A 60-year-old US citizen in Wuhan died from the coronavirus, becoming the first known American death in the outbreak

• A US citizen died on Thursday from the coronavirus in the epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan, China, The New York Times reported. It is the first apparent American death since the onset of the outbreak.
• The novel coronavirus, formally known as 2019-nCoV, has so far killed 724 people and infected nearly 35,000.
• While a majority of deaths have occurred in mainland China, one death was reported in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A US citizen died in the Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan from the coronavirus on Thursday local time, becoming the first known American death in the outbreak, The New York Times and CBS News reported.

The US citizen was 60 years old, according to the United States Embassy in Beijing, but little else is immediately known about the American.

"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss," a spokesman for the embassy told The Times. "Out of respect for the family's privacy, we have no further comment."

As of Saturday afternoon local time, the novel coronavirus, formally known as 2019-nCoV, has killed more than 720 people and infected nearly 35,000. The outbreak originated from the city of Wuhan in the Chinese province of Hubei.

A majority of deaths in the outbreak are located in mainland China. There are two reported deaths outside mainland China - one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines. There are 12 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the US.

• Read more:
• The Wuhan coronavirus has killed at least 720 people and infected more than 34,500. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.
• The Wuhan coronavirus seems to have a low fatality rate, and most patients make full recoveries. Experts reveal why it's causing panic anyway.
• Thousands of Chinese doctors volunteered for the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak. They are overwhelmed, under-equipped, exhausted, and even dying.