American dies of coronavirus in China, infections spread to French ski resort

[Deeq A.]

BEIJING, Feb 8 (Reuters) – A 60-year-old American has died of the new coronavirus, the first confirmed non-Chinese death of the illness, U.S. officials said, as millions of Chinese began returning home after a Lunar New Year break that was extended to try to contain the outbreak.

While the vast majority of cases have been in China, the virus has spread to some two dozen countries abroad, with the latest such cases including five British nationals infected in a French ski resort.

The American man died on Thursday in Wuhan, epicenter of the virus outbreak in the central Chinese province of Hubei, a U.S. embassy spokesman said in Beijing on Saturday.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss,” he told Reuters. “Out of the respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment.”

A Japanese man in his sixties and hospitalized with pneumonia in Wuhan also died after suffering symptoms consistent with the new coronavirus, Japan’s foreign ministry said.

The death toll in mainland China rose to 722 on Saturday, according to authorities, and is poised to pass the 774 deaths recorded globally during the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Most of the deaths in China have occurred in and around Wuhan. Across mainland China, the number of cases stood at 31,774 as of Saturday.

The virus has spread to 27 countries and regions, according to a Reuters count based on official reports, infecting more than 330 people. Two deaths have been reported outside of mainland China – in Hong Kong and the Philippines. Both victims were Chinese nationals.

The latest patients include five British nationals staying in the same chalet at a ski resort in Haute-Savoie in southeastern France, health officials said, raising fears of further infections as British families head for the Alps during the school half-term holidays.

The five had stayed in the same ski chalet with a person who had been in Singapore. They were not in a serious condition, the officials said.

The Chinese economy will sputter towards normal on Monday, as millions return from the provinces to the big cities after the biggest holiday of the year. The holiday was extended, but many workplaces will remain closed and many white-collar workers will continue to work from home.

U.S. electric carmaker Tesla’s factory in Shanghai will resume production on Monday, a government official said on Saturday.

Apple Inc said it was working to reopen its China corporate offices and call centers and was making preparations to reopen retail stores there. But Chinese authorities have blocked a plan by Apple supplier Foxconn to resume production from Feb. 10 over concerns about the spread of the virus, Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

The virus has been a blow to China’s already-slowing economy, with Goldman Sachs cutting its first-quarter GDP growth target to 4% from 5.6% previously and saying a deeper hit is possible.

“It’s certainly not going to be a return to normal next week,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics in Singapore.

“The longer this disruption continues the higher the risk it affects employment and the higher the risk of a much bigger hit on the economy,” he said.

Qaran News