The U.S. Embassy in Beijing says a 60-year-old American citizen diagnosed with the new virus died in Wuhan, apparently the first American fatality of the outbreak.
The embassy said in a brief statement Saturday that the American was confirmed to have been infected by the coronavirus and died at a hospital in Wuhan, the center of the outbreak. It said it would have no further comment out of respect for the family's privacy.
China announced that the death toll on the mainland increased to 722 on Saturday, including the American. It said 3,399 more people had been diagnosed with the virus over the last 24 hours, reversing two days of declines, raising the total number of cases on the mainland to 34,546.
As the Associated Press reported, President Xi Jinping spoke with President Donald Trump on Friday and urged the U.S. to “respond reasonably” to the outbreak.
The U.S. says that it is prepared to spend up to $100 million to help China and other countries fight the outbreak. The government said it helped to deliver about 18 tons of medical supplies donated to China by the U.S., including masks, gowns, gauze and respirators.
All but one the deaths in the outbreak have been in China. The U.S. has reported 12 cases.
Hundreds more Americans evacuated from the stricken zone in China began arriving Friday in the U.S., where they will be quarantined on military bases for two weeks.
