2020 February, 2, 07:50:40 AM

Philippines Reports First Coronavirus Death Outside China

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The Philippines on Sunday reported the growing epidemic of a coronavirus has claimed its first fatality outside of China, where new confirmed infections jumped by a daily record to top 14,000 cases.
The Philippines Department of Health said a 44-year-old man from Wuhan city in central Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, had died in a Manila hospital after developing severe pneumonia.

It was the first death out of more than 130 cases reported in around two dozen other countries and regions outside of mainland China.

The man who died was a companion of a 38-year-old Chinese woman, also from Wuhan, who was the first and only other person to test positive for the virus in the Philippines. Both patients arrived in the Philippines via Hong Kong on Jan. 21.
China’s death toll from the outbreak reached 304 as of the end of Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV said on Sunday, citing the country’s National Health Commission.

China is facing mounting isolation as other countries introduce travel curbs, airlines suspend flights and governments evacuate their citizens, risking worsening a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, but said global trade and travel restrictions are not needed.

However, some countries are responding to fears of the virus spreading by ramping up border controls. Singapore and the United States announced measures on Friday to ban foreign nationals who have recently been in China from entering their territories, and Australia followed suit on Saturday.

Russia introduced visa restrictions and will start evacuating Russian citizens on Monday and Tuesday, Interfax and TASS news agencies reported.

The Philippines expanded its travel ban to include all foreigners coming from China, widening an earlier restriction that covered only those from Hubei.

New Zealand and Vietnam also barred foreigners who have been in China, with Vietnam saying it would halt all flights to and from China.

Taiwan is asking its diplomats to talk to governments where Taiwanese airlines fly to ensure more flights are not cut off due the island’s inclusion by the WHO as part of China due to the coronavirus outbreak.
More than 100 Germans and family members landed in Frankfurt on Saturday after being evacuated from Wuhan. Around 250 Indonesians were being evacuated from Hubei.

China will start making arrangements to fly back to Taiwan the first 200 Taiwanese who have been stranded in Hubei, Chinese state media reported on Sunday. China says about 500 Taiwanese are in the province.

Japan plans to send another chartered plane mid-week or later to bring back Japanese nationals who are still in Hubei, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Japan also confirmed an additional three cases of the new coronavirus among an earlier batch of evacuees, including one who initially tested negative, the health ministry said, bringing the country’s total to 20 cases.

Japan has barred foreigners who have been in Hubei from entering the country, a move South Korea followed on Sunday. The entry ban will go into effect on Tuesday, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said.

Source: Reutres.com

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