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Coronavirus: At least 106 dead in China; WHO head in Beijing

People in Beijing, China, are seen wearing protective face masks on Sunday to guard against a coronavirus outbreak that has so far killed 81 people in mainland China. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI
People in Beijing, China, are seen wearing protective face masks on Sunday to guard against a coronavirus outbreak that has so far killed 81 people in mainland China. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Chinese authorities on Tuesday raised the death toll from a coronavirus outbreak to 106, ahead of a visit by the director-general of the World Health Organization who will help map out a plan to stem the virus' spread.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he planned to meet with health officials in Beijing and discuss what's happening in Wuhan, where the outbreak began.

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"We are working 24/7 to support China and its people during this difficult time and remain in close contact with affected countries, with our regional and country offices deeply involved," Ghebreyesus tweeted Sunday. "[WHO] is updating all countries on the situation and providing specific guidance on what to do to respond."

Chinese officials said there are at least 4,535 confirmed coronavirus cases in China as of Tuesday morning and nearly 7,000 suspected, and the outbreak has so far killed 106 people in mainland China.

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Of the dead, 100 were in Hubei province with 85 in Wuhan.

Health officials in Beijing on Monday confirmed the capital's first death since the outbreak began in late December -- a 50-year-old man who had visited Wuhan Jan. 8 and developed a fever after returning to Beijing a week later. His cause of death is listed as respiratory failure.

By Monday afternoon, Beijing had accumulated 80 confirmed cases, an increase of eight from the day before, including one patient who had come into contact with a previously confirmed case and has since been sent to a municipal hospital for treatment.

Outside of China, eight cases have been confirmed in Thailand, five each in the United States and Australia and Singapore and four each in Japan and South Korea and three in Malaysia, according to Chinese officials. Two cases have been documented in Vietnam, where officials have quarantined a dozen people who may also have the virus. At least two cases have also been confirmed and 19 more being investigated in Canada's largest city of Toronto.

Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams confirmed Canada's second case on Monday as the wife of its first confirmed patient and has been in self-isolation since her arrival in Toronto for China.

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"Given the fact that she has been in self-isolation, the risk to Ontarians remains low," Williams said.

Germany confirmed its first case of the disease late Monday, stating the Starnberg man has been placed in isolation and those who have come in close contact with him have been informed.

Health officials said they consider the risk to the greater bavarian population to the new disease "to be low."

Officials said there are about 4,100 Wuhan residents still traveling overseas who are expected to return in the coming days.

Given past virus outbreaks, Beijing said it hoped to show it's taking proper measures to contain the coronavirus -- including the construction of a clinic to handle Chinese cases.

"We have built an all-round and multilevel prevention and control system focusing on Wuhan and Hubei," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Sunday. "All are open and transparent, and we will speed up [the implementation of prevention] progress in a scientific and orderly manner."

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang traveled to Wuhan Monday to visit patients and medical staff.

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