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First death of Japanese with suspected coronavirus infection in China

Patients lying in their beds in a hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, Feb. 12, 2017. (AFP)
Patients lying in their beds in a hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, Feb. 12, 2017. (AFP)
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08 Feb 2020 06:02:42 GMT9
08 Feb 2020 06:02:42 GMT9
A Japanese man in his 60s who had been hospitalized for severe pneumonia in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, has died, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

This is the first confirmed death of a Japanese national likely infected with the new coronavirus.

The man was highly suspected of being infected with the coronavirus, but his infection has not been confirmed.

The Japanese ministry said it has been informed by the Chinese side that the man died of viral pneumonia.

In China, the death toll from the new coronavirus came to 722 as of midnight Friday local time (4 p.m. GMT).

According to the ministry, the Japanese embassy in Beijing received a report from a Wuhan hospital that the Japanese man died early on Saturday.

The man began to develop fever and complain of other symptoms around Jan. 16, and was admitted to the hospital for severe pneumonia on Jan. 22.

His initial test result indicated that he was strongly suspected of coronavirus infection, but an additional test was not conducted on him, due to his illness.

The Japanese ministry quoted the Chinese side as explaining that the man had possibly been infected with multiple viruses.

The Japanese government has sent four charter airplanes to bring home Japanese nationals from Wuhan and elsewhere in Hubei Province. The number of returnees, including Chinese and other family members of Japanese citizens, has totaled 763.

JIJI Press
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