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Minister confirms two cases of novel coronavirus in France — radio

France became the first European country to report the novel coronavirus infection on its territory

French Health and Solidarity Minister Agnes Buzyn Alain Jocard/Pool via AP

French Health and Solidarity Minister Agnes Buzyn

© Alain Jocard/Pool via AP

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Two cases of novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV have been confirmed in France’s Paris and Bordeaux, the France Info radio station said on Friday citing Minister for Solidarity and Health Agnes Buzyn.

A few hours later, the BFM TV channel said the health ministry of France has reported the third case of novel coronavirus on the country’s territory. The broadcaster gave no further details, however.

According to the minister, France became the first European country to report the novel coronavirus infection on its territory.

Commenting on the Bordeaux case, Buzyn said that "the patient, aged 48, returned from China via the city of Wuhan." He had contacts with 12 persons.

Earlier in the day, the SOS Medecins organization said that a man was admitted to a hospital in Bordeaux, suffering from symptoms of the novel coronavirus. When interviewed, the man confirmed that he had recently visited the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

On December 31, 2019, the Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of the new type of pneumonia in Wuhan, a city with a population of more than 11 million people. The culprit - 2019-nCoV coronavirus - was identified on January 7, 2020.

According to the latest data, about 900 people were infected with the new disease in China, and 26 of them died. The coronavirus is also identified in Vietnam, South Korea, the United States, Singapore and Japan. On January 23, the WHO refrained from declaring an international emergency over the outbreak of the virus that originated in China.

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