This photograph taken on Jan 19, 2020, captures the entrance to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Jinyintan hospital, one of the nine hospitals designated for treating infected pneumonia patients, in the Chinese city of Wuhan. (PHOTO / CCTV)

SHANGHAI / WUHAN / BEIJING - A fourth person has died from pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan following the outbreak of a new coronavirus, health authorities said on Tuesday even as China announced it will attend an emergency committee meeting convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.  

The 89-year-old man developed symptoms on Jan 13 and was admitted to hospital five days later after he experienced severe breathing difficulties, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement. He died on Jan 19.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said 15 medical workers in the city had been diagnosed with pneumonia with one other suspected case

It said the patient also had underlying health diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease.

In a separate statement posted on its official Weibo account, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said 15 medical workers in the city had been diagnosed with pneumonia with one other suspected case. Of the infected staff, one was in critical condition, it added.

The outbreak, which began in Wuhan, has spread to more Chinese cities including the capital Beijing and Shanghai, and four cases have been reported outside the country's borders, in South Korea, Thailand and Japan.

READ MORE: All-out efforts ordered to curb spread of virus

Authorities confirmed a total of 217 new cases of the virus in China as of 6 pm (1000 GMT) on Monday, state television reported, 198 of which were in Wuhan. 

Wuhan has designated nine hospitals for pneumonia treatment and 61 fever clinics to tackle the spread.

The city's health commission published a list of the hospitals and clinics on its website.

A medical expert team has been set up, with 25 members from 10 provincial and municipal hospitals, according to the health commission. 

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Human-to-human transmission

On Monday, a high-level expert team of China's National Health Commission confirmed people-to-people transmission of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and infections among medical staff.

Zhong Nanshan, a renowned respiratory expert and head of the team, said two cases in Guangdong province were confirmed to be people-to-people transmission.   

Wuhan has designated nine hospitals for pneumonia treatment and 61 fever clinics to tackle the spread

"The patients got infected, respectively, after their family members traveled to Wuhan and were infected by the virus," Zhong said during a media interview.

He also confirmed infections among medical staff.

Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a member of the expert team, said the outbreak of the new coronavirus can be reversed if measures are taken now.

He said the constant emergence of new cases at present indicated that the epidemic is still at its early stage.

Zhong also predicted an increase of viral pneumonia cases during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. But he expressed confidence in curbing the virus spread, saying the SARS epidemic in 2003 will not be repeated.

"It took just two weeks to identify the novel coronavirus," Zhong said, noting that with well-rounded monitoring and quarantine systems, China will not suffer the social and economic impact as serious as 17 years ago.

China will take preventive and control measures applicable to category A infectious diseases to fight against the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), according to the National Health Commission.

Pneumonia resulting from infection caused by the novel coronavirus has been classified as a category B infectious disease and a quarantinable disease at the border, the commission announced Monday.

China, along with other affected countries, will attend an emergency committee meeting convened by WHO on Wednesday to share information about the pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.

Representatives from participating countries, the WHO and relevant experts will make accurate assessments about the epidemic, Geng said a daily news conference.

He said that China will continue cooperating with the international community to deal with the epidemic and safeguard the security of regional and global health.

With inputs from agencies