An American became the first confirmed non-Chinese victim of the new coronavirus, U.S. officials said on Saturday, and a Japanese man also died with symptoms consistent with the disease, as the epidemic looked set to pass the death toll from SARS.
The 60-year old U.S. citizen died on Feb. 6 in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the central Chinese province of Hubei, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said in Beijing.
"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss," the spokesman said. "Out of the respect for the family's privacy, we have no further comment."