Philippines reports first coronavirus death outside China
A 44-year-old Chinese man died Sunday in the Philippines due to complications from the coronavirus, according to the Philippine Department of Health.
“This is the first reported death outside China,” World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines’ representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe told reporters in Manila.
Philippine officials said the man was from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus in China, and had arrived in the Philippines on January 21.
He was hospitalized in Manila and isolated on January 25 after experiencing fever, cough and a sore throat. He eventually developed severe pneumonia and died after a week in the hospital. Authorities said he was infected before arrival.
“I would like to emphasize that this is an imported case with no evidence of local transmission,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a press release.
A 38-year-old Chinese woman who had traveled to the Philippines with the man was also infected with the coronavirus and is being quarantined at the same hospital.
Governments worldwide stepped up their response to the virus, including in South Korea
Coronavirus deaths surge in China
Chinese health authorities reported 2,590 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the most recorded in a single day since the outbreak began. All of the cases were in Hubei province.
On Saturday, Chinese health authorities reported 45 deaths from the coronavirus, with 32 of the fatalities in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. The newly reported fatalities bring the death toll of the virus in mainland China from 259 up to 304.
The total number of infections currently stands at more than 14,380, according to Chinese authorities.
Germans evacuated
In Germany, 124 evacuees, including 102 with German nationality, arrived on a German Air Force flight on Saturday evening at Frankfurt airport from Wuhan, China.
They were transported to military barracks in Germersheim, about 120 kilometers (70 miles) south of Frankfurt, where they will kept be under observation for 14 days.
Eleven of the returnees were taken to the Frankfurt university clinic, with one woman suspected of being infected with the coronavirus.
“One case is a so-called case-in-clarification,” said Kai Klose, minister for social affairs and integration in the state of Hesse. The other 10 patients were suffering from medical complaints that were not connected with the virus. Germany on Saturday had eight confirmed cases of the virus.
A further German national was also infected with the virus in Spain, reported the Spanish ministry for health on Saturday. The man will be treated in isolation on the canary island of La Gomera, said the ministry. He had been in close contact with an infected person in Germany before travelling to Spain.
wmr,kmm/bw (dpa,AFP, AP, Reuters)
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