A first person in Europe has died of coronavirus after France confirms the death of a Chinese tourist in the country.
France's Health Minister Agnès Buzyn announced on Saturday the death of the patient, who was an 80-year-old man from China's Hubei province.
The patient, a Chinese national, had been in intensive care for more than two weeks. France has recorded 11 cases of the virus as the global total reaches 63,851.
Ms Buzyn said the man had arrived in France on January 16 from Hubei – the province of China most affected by the outbreak of coronavirus.
"His condition had deteriorated rapidly and he had been in critical condition for several days before being taken into intensive care" said Ms Buzyn in a televised statement.
"This is the first death from the coronavirus outside Asia, the first death in Europe."
She did not name the patient. The man's daughter had also been treated for the condition and hospitalised in Paris but is expected to be discharged soon.
There have so far been nine cases of coronavirus confirmed in the UK.
