TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As the death toll from the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) reached 80 with almost 3,000 infections confirmed, one of the fatalities was revealed as a local government official in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, reports said Monday (Jan. 27).
The 62-year-old former chairman of a city religious affairs committee, named as Wang Xianliang (王獻良), was the first government official to fall victim to the virus, according to a CNA report. He passed away at a hospital in Wuhan, which has been sealed off as the virus spreads across the country and overseas.
A Hubei provincial commerce official was confirmed as having contracted the coronavirus, though no details about his condition were released. At a news conference the previous day, Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang (周先旺) estimated the number of confirmed cases could increase by another 1,000 in the city in the near future.