MOSCOW – The first death caused by coronavirus outside China has been confirmed in the Philippines, said the Philippines Department of Health and World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday.
“A 44-year-old male is confirmed as the second person with the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV) in the Philippines. He passed away on 1 February 2020,” World Health Organization Philippines wrote on its Twitter account following a press conference.
WHO said the two patients were close contacts and both known residents of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the lethal virus outbreak.
Latest reports say the death toll from the virus surged to 304 on Sunday amid strict measures to tackle the spread of the disease. More than 14,000 people have been diagnosed with the infection.
Britain, Russia and Sweden among the over two dozens countries where the virus-hit patients have been confirmed.
The WHO Thursday declared the situation a global health emergency, and nations have started taking extraordinary steps to control the spread of the disease.
Pakistan has made the submission of a Health Declaration Form mandatory for all passengers entering Pakistan. which The form include contact details and brief travel history as per the instruction issued by the Ministry of Health.
