China says fourth person has died from new virus, over 225 infected

Beijing, Jan 21: An 89-year-old man has become the fourth person to die in China from a mysterious coronavirus that has spread across the country, authorities said on Tuesday.

The man died on Sunday after experiencing breathing difficulties in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak that has infected more than 200 people, the local health commission said in a statement.

Earlier on Monday, China had confirmed that this virus can be transmitted from a human to human contact.

According to Zhong Nanshan, director of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, transmission between humans was behind at least one confirmed case in Wuhan and also infections in two families in south China's Guangdong province.