Liang Wudong, a doctor at Hubei Xinhua Hospital who had been at the front line of the #CoronavirusOutbreak battle in Wuhan, dies from the virus at age 62. pic.twitter.com/W6RmzLnioS
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) January 25, 2020
CNN Philippines (Metro Manila, January 25) – State-run China Global Television Network reported Saturday that a doctor who had been at the front line in battling the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, has died from the new virus.
READ: Coronavirus death toll in China hits 41 as medical staff struggle to cope
Liang Wudong was a doctor at the Hubei Xinhua Hospital in Hubei province, where the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV) began, CGTN said in Twitter post. He was 62, it added.
CGTN reported that at least 41 people have died and 1,297 others infected in China as of Saturday.
The deadly new virus has reached parts of Asia, the United States, France, and most recently, Australia, CNN International has reported. Wuhan, the most populous city in central China with 11 million people, was placed under lockdown Thursday, while public transport has been suspended in 10 neighboring cities, CNN added.
Authorities in China have imposed indefinite travel restrictions on tens of millions of people across 11 cities to contain the virus, CNN reported Saturday.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more serious diseases such as such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
They can be transmitted between animal and human, or from infected human to another human, WHO said.
READ: Coronavirus explained: What you need to know
Meanwhile, the Philippines remains free from the new coronavirus, but authorities are on heightened alert to prevent the entry of the disease, increasing health screenings in airports, and indefinitely suspending flights to and from Wuhan.
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