Coronavirus outbreak: Hong Kong confirms first fatality

Top Stories

UAE coronavirus , coronavirus  in UAE, 2019-nCo, Wuhan coronavirus, India, Bihar, health, China, warning, travel, China virus, mers, sars, Wuhan, Coronavirus outbreak, tourists, Visa

Hong Kong has had 15 confirmed cases including one that was transmitted locally.

By Reuters

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Tue 4 Feb 2020, 5:52 AM

Last updated: Tue 4 Feb 2020, 9:50 AM

Hong Kong reported its first coronavirus death, local news broadcaster TVB said on Tuesday, the second fatality outside mainland China.
The 39-year-old male had previously been reported by local authorities as having an underlying illness. Hong Kong has had 15 confirmed cases including one that was transmitted locally.
Latest on the coronavirus spreading in China and beyond:
 * The death toll in China rose to 425 as of the end of Monday, up by a record 64 from the previous day, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday.
* The total number of infections in China rose by 3,235 on Tuesday to 20,438, and there are at least 151 cases in 23 other countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Britain.
* Japan's government said on Monday it would quarantine a Yokohama-bound cruise ship, after a Hong Kong man who sailed on it last month tested positive for coronavirus.
* The first death outside of China was reported on Sunday - a 44-year-old Chinese man who died in the Philippines after travelling there from Wuhan.
* The United States, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and Vietnam are among countries that have denied entry to foreign nationals who have recently been in China.
* China said it would welcome assistance from the United States to fight a coronavirus outbreak, a day after it accused Washington of scaremongering.
* A fragile calm gripped Asian shares on Tuesday as investors waited anxiously to see if Beijing could stem the rout in Chinese assets, which saw $393 billion wiped off share values a day earlier.
* China's central bank injects 1.2 trillion yuan ($174 billion) worth of liquidity into money markets, after promising to help companies struggling due to the virus.
* Oil hit 13-month lows as the coronavirus throttled demand in the world's biggest importer of fuel.
* The German fashion house Hugo Boss closed some stores in China, the Swiss watch producer Swatch cancelled a retail event in Zurich.
* Business jet manufacturers Bombardier Inc, Textron Inc and General Dynamics Corp's Gulfstream division said they would stay away from the Singapore Airshow.
* Chinese data suggest the virus is less deadly than the 2002-03 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people of the some 8,000 it infected - although it appears to spread much faster.
* The United States, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea have recorded person-to-person transmission infections, suggesting greater potential for spreading.
* China's central city of Wuhan and the surrounding province of Hubei - the centre of the epidemic - are under a virtual quarantine.
* Global airlines have suspended or scaled back direct flights to China's major cities.
* Countries including Russia, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States are working to evacuate citizens from Wuhan or have already done so.


More news from