U.S. Embassy in Beijing: American dies of virus in China

BEIJING (AP) The U.S. Embassy in Beijing says a 60-year-old American citizen diagnosed with the new virus died in Wuhan, apparently the first American fatality of the outbreak.

The embassy said in a brief statement Saturday that the American was confirmed to have been infected by the coronavirus and died at a hospital in Wuhan, the center of the outbreak. It said it would have no further comment out of respect for the family's privacy.

China announced that the death toll on the mainland increased to 722 on Saturday, including the American. It said 3,399 more people had been diagnosed with the virus over the last 24 hours, reversing two days of declines, raising the total number of cases on the mainland to 34,546.
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2/8/2020 5:10:18 AM (GMT -5:00)