A man has died of coronavirus in the Philippines, marking the first death recorded outside of China.
The 44-year-old Chinese national, from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, was one of two confirmed infections in the Philippines, the Department of Health said on Sunday.
The man developed severe pneumonia after being admitted to the hospital, the department said.
The death is the first known instance of a person dying of the virus outside China, according to the World Health
Organization.
Philippine health officials confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country on January 30.
The health department's announcement followed a move by the Philippine government to expand its travel ban amid the outbreak to include all foreigners coming from China.
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It earlier had restricted only those from Hubei province, home of over 58 million people.
The ban also covers foreigners coming from Hong Kong and Macau, said President Rodrigo Duterte's longtime special assistant, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go.
Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the WHO representative to the Philippines, urged people to remain calm: "This is the first reported death outside China.
"However, we need to take into mind that this is not a locally acquired case. This patient came from the epicentre of this outbreak."
Local news media Rappler stated that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the patient's condition deteriorated rapidly over 24 hours.
Mr Duque said: "We are currently working with the Chinese embassy to ensure the dignified management of the remains according to national and international standards to contain the disease."
The man would be cremated, he added.
Authorities will start looking to track down people who were on the same flight and place them in isolation.
The epidermic, which started from a wildlife seafood market in Wuhan, has spread to about two dozen countries with over 14,500 confirmed cases and 305 deaths.
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