Coronavirus: Hong Kong Reports Second Death Outside Mainland China

A 39-year-old man, who was diagnosed on January 31, died on Tuesday of sudden heart failure, also becoming the first casualty in Hong Kong due to the deadly virus. The only other death due to coronavirus outside mainland China has taken place in the Philippines.

New Delhi: Hong Kong on Tuesday reported second death due to coronavirus outside mainland China, with a 39-year-old man becoming its first casualty from the deadly virus. The only other death due to coronavirus outside mainland China has taken place in the Philippines.

The patient was the 13th confirmed case of coronavirus in Hong Kong. He was diagnosed on January 31 and died on Tuesday of sudden heart failure. According to the hospital staff, he was suffering from ‘underlying illness,’ and had visited Wuhan, where this latest outbreak began, last month.

In fact, the man who died in the Philippines, was a Chinese national himself.

Today’s development took place even as the death toll due to the virus in mainland China increased to 425, with 64 more people succumbing to it in a day. Over 21,000 people, too, are suspected to have been infected with the deadly virus.

Several countries, including India, have evacuated their respective citizens from China. India has airlifted its citizens, most of whom are students, in two special Air India flights with more than 300 passengers on each flight.

Thus far, three positive cases of coronavirus have been reported from India, with all of them being from the state of Kerala.

Pakistan, however, has refused to airlift its students from China, saying that it does not have medical facilities to treat the virus. Several videos of Pakistani students requesting their government to evacuate them have gone viral on social media.