There have been deaths from the coronavirus outside China

Medical staff take care of a patient with acute respiratory infection caused by the new coronavirus at a hospital in Chongqing, China on February 1, 2020. (Source: THX/TTXVN)

According to Bloomberg news agency, a 44-year-old man in the Philippines has died from the new coronavirus, the first death recorded outside China.

The above information has been confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to WHO, the man was from Wuhan (China), where the virus originated, and was traveling to the Philippines. Before being taken to the emergency room at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, the male patient had symptoms such as fever, cough, and sore throat. He died on February 1.

The man is the second confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the Philippines and had contact with the country's first case, also a Wuhan resident.

On January 30, the Philippines recorded a 38-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan city who tested positive for the virus.

On January 31, President Rodrigo Duterte banned Chinese nationals from Wuhan city – the epicenter of the outbreak, and other provinces that have reported cases – from entering the Philippines.

Three Philippine airlines on February 1 canceled flights to China, joining many others around the world that have done the same, after health officials confirmed the first cases of the 2019-nCov acute respiratory disease.

Specifically, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and the local unit of AirAsia Group Bhd said they will cancel flights to China starting from February.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths from the new coronavirus in China is still rising rapidly, and has exceeded 300. According to statistics from the National Health Commission of China, as of the end of February 1, the country had a total of 14,411 cases of infection, an increase of 2,590 people compared to the previous day, of which 304 people have died.