At least 16 foreign nationals have contracted the 2019-nCoV virus in China, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a press briefing on Monday, TASS reports.
"According to the relevant authorities, as of February 2, 16 foreign citizens in China have been diagnosed with pneumonia caused by coronavirus. Two of them have been discharged from medical institutions, 14 others are undergoing treatment, their condition is stable," she said.
On Monday, China’s National Health Commission reported that the number of people infected with novel coronavirus in China had reached 17,205. The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 361.
On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial metropolis in central China populated by 11 million people. On January 7, 2020, Chinese experts identified the infecting agent: coronavirus 2019-nCoV.
Cases of the new coronavirus were also confirmed in 23 other countries, including Russia. On January 30, the World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus outbreak an international public health emergency.
