Coronavirus: France, US Confirms First Two Patients
The French authorities have confirmed the case of two people affected by the coronavirus in the country.
The deadly virus was first discovered in China, and it has now reached Europe, with France being the first part of the continent.
The health minister, Agnes Buzyn, who confirmed the two cases on Friday, said that both of the sickened people had traveled to China.
READ: Coronavirus: China Puts Second City Into Lock Down
The minister, who is expecting more cases, believes that one reason why France is the first European country to have confirmed cases is that it has developed a test allowing medics to diagnose the sickened rapidly.
According to the Minister, one of the people infected by the virus is a 48-year-old man, who passed through Wuhan, the epicenter in China for the virus, before traveling to France on Wednesday. He has now been hospitalized in the southwestern city of Bordeaux while the other person, who also went to China, is hospitalized in Paris.
In a related development, the US Government has also confirmed a second case of the deadly virus.
The person infected is a 60-year-old woman in Chicago, Illinois, who traveled to Wuhan in late December and arrived in the US on January 13.
With the woman, the number of people confirmed to have been infected with the virus in China is now 63, as symptoms are now tested nationwide.
According to reports, the woman allegedly didn’t experience symptoms until several days later, and she is currently in isolation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the woman appears to be well and in stable condition as she did not have any travel companions and that her contacts since developing symptoms are believed to be limited to people in her household, who will also be monitored.
Others under monitoring in 22 states include two students, one at Texas A&M University, who had traveled from Wuhan, and another student at Tennessee Tech University.
READ: 26 People Confirmed Dead Due To Outbreak of Lassa Fever And Meningitis In 2019
Doctors have also announced that another 43 people came into contact with the first confirmed US patient, who is being quarantined in Washington state
So far, 902 people have fallen ill since December, mostly in China, with 41 already died.
