As of Friday, four more people have been diagnosed with the new type of coronavirus, which has caused the recent pneumonia outbreak in the central China's city of Wuhan, the local health commission announced on Saturday.
All four men are now in stable condition, and have been transferred to the same hospital for treatment.
On Wednesday, a 69-year-old man died from the virus after his condition worsened on January 4, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. He also had severe myocarditis and abnormal function in multiple organs upon admission to the hospital, the commission added.
It follows the death last week of a 61-year-old patient, who also had abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease.
So far, 41 cases have been reported in the city, among whom 12 have recovered and been discharged from the hospital, five remain in critical condition, and two have died, according to the commission.
The rest of the patients are in stable condition, and all of them have been quarantined and are receiving treatment at designated medical institutions in Wuhan.
A total of 763 people who have had close contact with the patients have been identified, and 644 of them were no longer under medical observation.
On Friday morning, Thailand said that a 74-year-old Chinese woman had been confirmed to be infected – the second case found in the country, following the discovery of the first case on Monday.
The second patient, quarantined since arriving in Thailand on Monday, is also from Wuhan, said Sukhum Karnchanapimai, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry at a press conference.
Both patients were being treated at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, and there was no relation between the two cases, he said.
He asked Thais to stay calm, as there was no outbreak in the country.
On Thursday, Japan reported a pneumonia patient in his 30s, who had been cured and released from the hospital.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that limited human-to-human transmission couldn't be ruled out, and has given guidance to hospitals worldwide about infection prevention and control in case the new virus spreads.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to SARS. There is no specific treatment for the new virus, but anti-virals are being considered and could be "re-purposed," according to Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of WHO's emerging diseases unit.
