Travelers wear face masks as they walk outside the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. People returning to Beijing will now have to isolate themselves either at home or in a concentrated area for medical observation, said a notice from the Chinese capital's prevention and control work group published by state media late Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - France's health minister has announced the first coronavirus death in Europe.
Minister Agnes Buzyn says Saturday that "I was informed last night of the death of an 80-year-old patient who had been hospitalized ... since Jan. 25."
The patient, a Chinese tourist from the province of Hubei, had a lung infection caused by the COVID-19 virus. He arrived in France on Jan. 16, then was hospitalized on Jan. 25 under strict isolation measures. His condition deteriorated rapidly.
His daughter was also hospitalized but authorities say she is expected to recover.
Europe has 46 cases of the virus that first emerged in central China in December. Nine European nations have reported cases, with Germany having the most at 16.
The virus has infected more than 67,000 people globally and has killed at least 1,526 people, the vast majority in China. The World Health Organization has called the virus a threat to global health.
Chinese authorities have placed some 60 million people under a strict lockdown, built emergency hospitals and instituted controls across the country to fight the spread of the virus. Restaurants, cinemas and other businesses have been closed nationwide and sports and cultural events have been canceled to prevent crowds from gathering.
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Read all the AP stories about the coronavirus outbreak that emerged from China at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak
Medical staff work in the negative-pressure isolation ward in Jinyintan Hospital, designated for critical COVID-19 patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. China on Thursday reported 254 new deaths and a spike in virus cases of 15,152, after the hardest-hit province of Hubei applied a new classification system that broadens the scope of diagnoses for the outbreak, which has spread to more than 20 countries. (Chinatopix Via AP)
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A worker sprays disinfectant outside the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. People returning to Beijing will now have to isolate themselves either at home or in a concentrated area for medical observation, said a notice from the Chinese capital's prevention and control work group published by state media late Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Travelers wear face masks and goggles as they use their smartphones outside the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. People returning to Beijing will now have to isolate themselves either at home or in a concentrated area for medical observation, said a notice from the Chinese capital's prevention and control work group published by state media late Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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France's Health Minister Agnes Buzyn arrives to a meeting, at the hôtel Matignon, Paris, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. The announcement Saturday Agnes Buzyn brings the total number of people with the virus in France to 11. Buzyn said they appear linked to a British person who stayed there in late January, and was later to confirmed to have the virus after returning to Britain. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2020, file photo, people wearing masks play games at a quarantined vacation center in Carry-le-Rouet, southern France, which is currently accommodating French citizens repatriated from the virus-hit city of Wuhan. The virus outbreak that began in China and has spread to more than 20 countries is stretching already-strained public health systems in Asia and beyond, raising questions over whether everyone can get equal access to treatment. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
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