First Death from Novel Coronavirus in Hong Kong: "39-Year-Old Male"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 4th that the first death of a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) occurred in Hong Kong.

According to the report, the deceased was a 39-year-old man who had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus and was receiving treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital. He died suddenly from cardiac arrest that morning. This is the first death caused by the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China. It is also the second death outside mainland China, following the Philippines.

The man had visited Wuhan, China, the origin of the novel coronavirus, on the 21st of last month and returned to Hong Kong by high-speed train two days later. He showed fever symptoms on the 31st and was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he was confirmed to have the novel coronavirus.

He was the 13th confirmed case in Hong Kong and lived in the Wampoa area with his mother. His mother was also infected with the novel coronavirus and was confirmed as the 15th case on the 2nd. The mother had not traveled outside Hong Kong recently. The Hong Kong health authorities have reported a total of 15 confirmed cases in Hong Kong.

With the first death from the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong, calls from the Hong Kong medical community for a full lockdown of the border area with China are expected to intensify. The previous day, Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, held a press conference and announced the closure of all checkpoints with mainland China except for two locations. However, the Hong Kong public healthcare union has launched a general strike, demanding a complete lockdown of the border with China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.