China reports first death from new virus

Chinese state media on Saturday reported the first known death from a new virus that has infected dozens of people across Asia.

The Xinhua News Agency cited the health commission in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the illness first appeared, in reporting the death. The report gave no details about the person who died.

Forty-one people have been found to have the new virus, a coronavirus, and seven patients are still in severe condition, the health commission said, according to the Xinhua report. Two patients have been discharged, it said, and no new cases have been detected since Jan 3.

There is no evidence that the virus can be spread between humans, according to the commission. The initial cases were linked to workers at a market that sold live fish, birds and other animals. More than 700 people who had close contact with patients were put under observation and no additional cases were found, the report said.

Reports of the virus — a mysterious, pneumonialike illness — first appeared last month and have since aroused fears around the region, where memories of the SARS epidemic 17 years ago, which began in China and killed more than 800 people worldwide, still linger.

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