Coronavirus death in Hong Kong

Hong Kong reported its first death from the coronavirus on Tuesday - only the second outside China - as the death toll from the outbreak rose to at least 425 and China admitted "shortcomings and difficulties" in its response to the flu-like infection.

The Hong Kong victim was a 39-year-old man from Wuhan, where the virus first originated, who had underlying health problems, the authorities said. It was the second death recorded outside China - the first was in the Philippines on Sunday.

Meanwhile, China's National Health Commission reported 64 new fatalities as of midnight on Monday - the biggest daily increase since the virus was first detected late last year. Wuhan, and the surrounding province of Hubei, have been effectively sealed off from the rest of the country for more than a week.
There are now 20,438 people confirmed to have the infection.

Late on Monday, the Standing Committee of the Politburo - the country's top leadership - met in Beijing and acknowledged "shortcomings and difficulties" in China's response to the outbreak.

 

Dhaka/Mukul