China’s Hebei province confirms first death outside epicentre of virus outbreak

BEIJING, Jan 23 (Reuters) - China’s Hebei provincial health authority said a patient infected with the new coronavirus has died, marking the first confirmed death outside Hubei province where the outbreak began.

The Health Commission of Hebei Province said in a statement dated Thursday that the patient, 80, died on Wednesday but was not confirmed to have been infected with the virus until Thursday.

The death toll from the outbreak now stands at 18.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu, Se Young Lee and Tom Daly Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)