Coronavirus kills fifth person

Another person has died from the coronavirus, and the deaths are expected to continue. The spread of the novel coronavirus in the Middle East has expanded to Jordan and killed five people, the World Health Organization announced today. There are now nine cases total of the coronavirus, which is genetically related to the virus that causes SARS, The Star reported. The five deaths include three Saudi Arabians and two patients in Jordan.

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Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that range from the cold to SARS. They do not transmit easily between people, but can be found in some species of bats. The WHO is trying to figure out where this recent human epidemic of coronavirus came from, BBC News reported.

"It's too early to say whether human-to-human transmission occurred or not, but we certainly can't rule it out," WHO spokesman Gregory Hart told the Associated Press. 

“The newly reported cases demonstrate that the virus has persisted over a period of at least 5 months and is geographically distributed over a wider area than was evidenced by the first two cases,” says the WHO surveillance recommendation report.