Coronavirus: More Than 14,000 Cases Confirmed, First Death Outside China Recorded in Philippines

The first coronavirus death outside China’s borders

A man has died of the coronavirus in the Philippines, the first confirmed fatality outside China.

The patient was a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan, in Hubei province, where the virus was first detected.

He appeared to have been infected before arriving in the Philippines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

More than 300 people have died in the outbreak so far, the vast majority from Hubei. More than 14,000 people have been infected.

Countries around the world have announced strict travel restrictions against visitors flying in from China, even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended against “limiting trade and movement” as a response to containing the new coronavirus.

The respiratory illness has killed more than 300 people in China and infected thousands within the country and dozens beyond its borders, prompting the WHO to declare a global public health emergency.

The total number of global confirmed cases of infection has risen to 14,628 as of Sunday morning and the death toll is at 305, according to a virus tracker maintained by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. In Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, more than 9,000 cases have been confirmed. See live link here

China will seek to boost its economy on Monday as it battles the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, and in the Philippines the first death from the virus outside China is reported. David Doyle reports.

China ramped up measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic and shore up the economy against its effects on Sunday (February 2) as the first death from the illness was reported outside the country.

A 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan – the epicenter of the outbreak – died in the Philippines on Saturday, the Department of Health said

“Of course it’s frightening. It really is frightening because the virus will spread.”

The Philippines has expanded its travel ban to include all foreigners coming from China

and Beijing is facing mounting isolation as other countries introduce similar travel restrictions, airlines suspend flights and governments evacuate their citizens.

That risks worsening a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.

China’s central bank said it will inject $173.8 billion worth of liquidity into the markets on Monday

as the country prepares to reopen its stock markets following an extended Lunar New Year holiday.

As of Sunday there have been more than 300 coronavirus deaths in China

and the city of Wuhan has been effectively quarantined with roads sealed off and public transport shut down.

State media said one of two new hospitals in Wuhan dedicated to coronavirus patients was completed on Sunday.

More than 100 Germans and family members landed in Frankfurt on Saturday after being evacuated from Wuhan, and around 250 Indonesians were evacuated from Hubei province.

Japan and Russia will evacuate nationals later in the week.

Cases have been reported in more than two dozen countries including the United States, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and Britain.

Meanwhile, doctors in Thailand say they have seen success in treating severe cases of coronavirus using a combination of medications for flu and HIV.

They said the approach had shown a vast improvement in the conditions of several patients in their care after 48 hours.