South Korea reports first death of doctor from COVID-19

A South Korean physician who contracted the new coronavirus died early Friday in the city of Daegu, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

It was the first death of a medical professional from COVID-19 in the country.

The 60-year-old was a private practitioner and two patients he saw in February have tested positive for the coronavirus. The physician was diagnosed on March 19 and is believed to have caught the virus from a patient.

The total number of infections in South Korea stood at 10,062 at midnight Thursday. The country's death toll reached 174, most of them elderly.