Taiwan confirms first coronavirus death

Taiwan on Sunday confirmed its first coronavirus death — marking the fifth fatality outside of mainland China.

The man, a 61-year-old taxi driver, was living with diabetes and hepatitis B when he died of the virus, according to Health Minister Chen Shih-Chung.

There’s an investigation underway to determine how the man, who had not recently traveled outside of Taiwan, contracted the illness, Chen said.

The driver’s clients were largely from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, the minister said.

“So far, we are not able to gather his contact history, so we are actively making investigations, hoping to find out the source of the contraction,” Chen said.

One of the man’s relatives also tested positive for the virus in what was the island’s first known case of person-to-person transmission, the official said.

Taiwan has reported 20 cases of the virus, also known as COVID-19, and banned entry to Chinese visitors.

The death comes after Europe reported its first coronavirus death when a Chinese visitor died in France.

The virus has killed at least 1,669 people, mostly in mainland China, and infected more than 69,000 others._Agencies.


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