A 44-year-old man in the Philippines has died from the coronavirus, making him the first person outside of China to die from the disease.
The World Health Organisation confirmed the man was the second person in the Philippines to contract the virus. He died on February 1 (local time).
"This is the first known death of someone with 2019-nCoV outside of China. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time," it said in a statement.
According to the Guardian, the man died in a Manila hospital after arriving in the Philippines with a Chinese woman who also tested positive for the virus.
"Over the course of the patient's admission, he developed severe pneumonia. In his last few days, the patient was stable and showed signs of improvement. However, the condition of the patient deteriorated within the last 24 hours resulting in his demise," Philippines' Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
Hours before the death was reported, it was announced all visitors from China, Hong Kong and Macau would be banned from arriving in the Philippines.
The death toll in China from the virus is now at least 305. There are also more than 14,300 confirmed cases in China alone.
