Feb 15, 2020 - Health

French health minister confirms first coronavirus death in Europe

Gigi Sukin

French Health and Solidarity Minister Agnes Buzyn — French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn. Photo: Ludovic Marin/Contributor/Getty Images

French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn confirmed on Saturday the death of a Chinese patient diagnosed with coronavirus in a Paris hospital, the first COVID-19 casualty outside of Asia.

The state of play: "I was informed last night of the death of an 80-year-old patient who was hospitalized ... since January 25 and who had a pulmonary infection from the coronavirus," Buzyn said.

She explained that the patient, a tourist, arrived in France on Jan. 16 from the Hubei province of China, the epicenter of the outbreak. The individual had been hospitalized and isolated since Jan. 25.

The big picture: Europe has more than 60 confirmed cases of the virus, with Germany having the most at 16, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

As of Saturday, there are 67,097 confirmed cases of the virus globally, including 15 in the United States.
There have been only four deaths reported outside mainland China, in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan and France.

Go deeper: Global coronavirus deaths continue rising, as U.S. reports 15th case

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French health minister confirms first coronavirus death in Europe

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