HONG KONG, Feb. 19 (Reuters) - Hong Kong recorded its second death caused by the new coronavirus on Wednesday (Feb 19).,

The 70-year-old man, who had underlying illnesses, was one of the 62 confirmed cases in the city, a spokesperson from Princess Margaret Hospital told Reuters.

The city's first fatality from COVID-19 was a 39-year-old man who had travelled to Wuhan in January.

Officials said the man also had diabetes, but had been stable until his condition suddenly deteriorated before he died on Feb 4.

The death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 2,000 on Wednesday after 136 more people died. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 74,185.