Philippines confirms first nCoV-related death outside China

The Philippines’ health authorities on February 2 reported a death related to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the country.

Medical workers care for an nCoV-infected patient at a hospital in Chongqing city of China on February 1

The victim was a 44-year-old man who traveled to the Philippines from Wuhan, China.

This was the first 2019-nCoV-related death outside China reported so far.

nCoV is classified as a Class A contagious disease, a group of extremely dangerous infectious diseases that can transmit very rapidly and spread widely with high mortality rates, including the likes of influenza A-H5N1, SARs, Ebola or smallpox.

Earlier, the World Health Organisation declared the nCoV epidemic in China as a global health emergency of international concern./.

VNA