A 39-year-old man has been confirmed as the first person in Hong Kong to die from the Wuhan coronavirus, and only the second worldwide outside of mainland China.
The news was first reported this morning by local broadcaster TVB News, who said that the man in question had been the 13th coronavirus case confirmed by authorities, and lived in Whampoa. Hong Kong has confirmed a total of 15 cases so far.
The Centre for Health Protection reported on Friday that the man had taken a high-speed train from Hong Kong to Wuhan on Jan. 21, and from Changshanan to Hong Kong on Jan. 23. The CHP says that he didn’t visit any visit any health care facilities or markets, or have any exposure to wild animals, the suspected origin of the virus.
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, he started developing myalgia, or muscle pain, and decided to go to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Friday, after developing a fever. He subsequently tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital for isolation and management.
The man’s 72-year-old mother started showing pneumonia symptoms on Saturday, and subsequently became the 15th confirmed case.
Both the man and his mother reportedly had other underlying conditions, according to RTHK.
On.cc reports that Hospital Authority and Department of Health officials will hold a press conference at 4:30pm to provide more details.
Not including the case in Hong Kong, the Wuhan coronavirus has claimed at least 426 lives as of this morning, all but one of them in mainland China. The only death outside of the mainland was in the Philippines, where a 44-year-old man succumbed to the illness over the weekend.
