Coronavirus: Philippines reports first death outside China as Duterte orders travel ban on visitors from mainland, Hong Kong

The Philippines has reported the first coronavirus death outside China, hours after a senator said the country would issue a sweeping travel ban that included Hong Kong.

The victim was a 44-year-old male Chinese national, who died on February 1. He was the companion of a 38-year-old Chinese woman, who arrived in the Philippines from Wuhan on January 21 after travelling through Hong Kong.

Over the course of the patient’s admission, he developed severe pneumonia, the Philippines’ Department of Health said.

“This is the first reported death outside China,” Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to the Philippines, said.

The announcement came hours after Philippine media reported that President Rodrigo Duterte was set to issue a temporary travel ban on visitors from China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that has claimed more than 300 lives in China.

The measures would apply to all travellers from China regardless of nationality.