Bystanders outside a restaurant in Sydney, Australia allegedly refused to provide CPR to a Chinese man who suffered a heart attack over fears that he was carrying the deadly 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
The 60-year-old man, who has not been identified, died before paramedics arrived to finally help him outside a Masuya Suisan restaurant in the city’s Chinatown on Tuesday night.
Staff informed restaurant managers that a man collapsed outside the premises, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A New South Wales spokeswoman said officers were called to the restaurant just after 8:30 p.m. “following reports of a concern for welfare” but found “no suspicious circumstances.”
As of the morning of Feb. 1, nine cases of 2019-nCoV have been confirmed in Australia, according to the country’s Department of Health.
There are two cases in Queensland, three cases in Victoria and four cases in New South Wales, where Sydney is located.
The virus that originated in Wuhan, China has infected more than 9,700 and killed 213 people, CNN reported.
Aside from China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and Australia, it has been found in 20 other countries, including (in no particular chronology) the U.S., the U.K., Russia, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Finland, Ivory Coast, U.A.E., Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Nepal and the Philippines.
The NSW spokeswoman would not comment on the report that bystanders refused to help over fears of coronavirus, news.com.au noted.
Feature Image Screenshots via 7 News / news.com.au
