An American Dies of the Virus in Wuhan, China

A United States citizen has died from the new coronavirus in Wuhan, China, in what appeared to be the first death of an American from the outbreak.

Few details about the American, who died on Thursday, were immediately available. The person was around 60 years old, according to the United States Embassy in Beijing. Two people familiar with the matter said the person was a woman and had underlying health conditions.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss,” said a spokesman for the embassy. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment.”

Deaths in China reach 722, and infections climb past 34,000.

The death toll and the number of infections have grown again, according to official data released early Saturday.

Across China, 86 new deaths and 3,399 new cases emerged in the previous 24 hours, the national health authorities said.

The new figures brought the total number of deaths in China to at least 722. And the total number of confirmed cases rose to 34,546.

Most of the newly reported deaths, 81, occurred in Hubei Province, the heart of the outbreak.

Many doctors believe that deaths and infections in China are undercounted because hospitals and laboratories are under severe strain to test for the virus.

Travel to Asia slows, even to destinations far from China.

Travelers to Asia, even to countries far from the epicenter of the virus in China, are beginning to reconsider their plans.

Hard data on cancellations is scarce, as airlines, hotels and travel boards say they do not yet have numbers or will not share them. But tour operators, travel insurance brokers and airline employees say they are facing growing numbers of customers changing their plans.

Brian Fitzgerald, president of Overseas Adventure Travel, a company providing group tours to travelers mostly over 50, said it encountered cancellations to China through April in the wake of the outbreak’s announcement. But this week, he said, tourists scheduled to go to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were reconsidering as well.

January data from April Travel Protection, an insurance provider, which tracks residents in the United States traveling to every country in the world, shows that claims with an Asian country in the itinerary more than doubled compared to January 2019.

More than 20 international carriers have suspended or restricted routes that ended in Wuhan and other major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Reporting and research were contributed by Jack Ewing, Alexandra Stevenson, Austin Ramzy, Tiffany May and Emily Palmer.

Source: New York times
 

Awdalia Rising

SSpot Special Correspondent
Chinese started this as a form of population control. We will never know how many actually died in China of this disease. America facilitated the spread so they can work on a vaccine, Chinese won’t share with anyone else the one that they have made. Can’t risk China using this as bio weapon in other countries so they brought patients to the west to work on vaccines
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