Coronavirus Death Toll Moves Out of Asia

A Chinese tourist has died in France
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2020 6:30 AM CST
Coronavirus Death Toll Moves Out of Asia
Residents wearing masks are seen in Beijing, China, on Thursday.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The coronavirus death toll has made its way to a new region. Per the BBC and New York Times, France's health minister has announced that an 80-year-old man from China's Hubei province who was visiting France died Friday of a lung infection caused by the coronavirus. The tourist, who arrived in France on Jan. 16, had been hospitalized and quarantined in Paris since Jan. 25. "His condition had quickly worsened and he had been in critical condition for several days," Agnes Buzyn said in a statement. She added that the man's daughter had also contracted the illness and was hospitalized, but that she should be able to go home soon.

France so far has reported 11 coronavirus cases, including these two. The man's death is the fourth noted outside of China, though the other three deaths have all taken place in Asia: Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines have each reported one death. Meanwhile, Egypt's health ministry has confirmed the first case in Africa, noting only that the patient was a foreigner. Health officials on Saturday said there were more than 2,600 new coronavirus cases in China, with 143 new deaths, Reuters reports. More than 66,000 have been infected worldwide with the disease, with upward of 1,500 deaths, mostly in China. (More coronavirus stories.)

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