One man infected with coronavirus died in the Philippines, becoming the first death outside of China. The victim is a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan city, "ground zero of the virus", and is said to have been infected before arriving in the Philippines.

"This is the first death reported outside of China," Rabindra Abeyasinghe, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Philippines, told reporters. "However, we must keep in mind that this is not a case that was locally infected. This patient came from the epicenter of this epidemic," said Abeyasinghe.

The man, who died in a hospital in Manila, arrived in the Philippines with a 38-year-old Chinese woman who also tested positive for the virus, said Secretary of State for Health Francisco Duque. This woman, currently recovering in a hospital, was the first case of coronavirus identified in the Philippines.

The announcement of the death came shortly after the Philippines' decision to no longer accept foreign travelers from China. The Philippine government has also advised its nationals not to travel to China, Hong Kong and Macao.

In China, the confined city of Wenzhou

The city of Wenzhou, in eastern China, imposed Sunday the confinement of its more than 9 million inhabitants and drastically restricts car traffic. With 265 cases of contamination, Wenzhou is one of the cities in China most affected by the epidemic of viral pneumonia, which has now infected more than 14,000 people throughout the country, including 304 fatal, according to official figures.

Residents have an obligation to stay at home. Only one person per household is allowed to go out once every two days to shop, local authorities said. Public transport is suspended as well as long distance coaches. The main highways are almost entirely closed to automobile traffic. Public places such as cinemas or swimming pools are closed. Companies will not have to return to work before February 17 and schools will remain closed until March 1.

Wenzhou is more than 800 km from Wuhan, the city in the center of the country where the coronavirus appeared in December and which was de facto quarantined on January 23.

With AFP

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