Coronavirus claims US citizen in Wuhan
By Zheng Qi
People's Daily app
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Medical staff work in the isolated intensive care unit in a hospital in Wuhan, China on February 6, 2020.  (Photo: AP)

US Embassy officials in Beijing confirmed that a US citizen infected with the novel coronavirus had died at a Wuhan hospital, according to a CNN report.

The fatality marks the first confirmed coronavirus death of a foreign national. 

Two people outside of mainland China have also died from the respiratory virus, a man in Hong Kong and a Chinese man in the Philippines.

"We can confirm a 60-year-old US citizen diagnosed with coronavirus died at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, China on February 6 (Thursday)," a spokesman for the US Embassy in Beijing said Saturday. 

"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. Out of the respect for the family's privacy, we have no further comment," said the US Embassy spokesman.