France confirms first two cases of coronavirus in Europe

France on Friday announced two cases of the deadly new virus from China, the first cases in Europe. The two confirmed cases were announced by the health minister, Agnes Buzyn. She said that both the sick people had travelled to China. The minister said she expects more cases. "We have two cases," she said. "We will probably have other cases."  

Earlier on Friday, the United States health authorities on Friday said that the second case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the country. An international news portal reported that a woman in Chicago has been confirmed as the second case of Wuhan coronavirus.

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The outlet cited US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as announcing that the woman had recently travelled from the Chinese city of Wuhan. It further said that 63 patients from 22 States were being tested for the coronavirus. The first confirmed case in the US was a man in his 30s from Washington State who was found to be infected with the new strain after returning home from a recent visit to Wuhan in Hubei province. 

On Friday, Nepal Health Ministry confirmed the first case of the virus has been detected in the Himalayan nation. The cases of the virus have also been detected from South Korea, Japan, and Thailand.

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WHO doesn't declare global emergency

Coronavirus, which has already infected hundreds of people and reportedly killed 25 people, still does not yet constitute a global emergency, the World Health Organisation reportedly said on January 24. While speaking to an international media outlet, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organisation is still not declaring a public health emergency of international concern as it is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency.

In an earlier reported, WHO had confirmed that the SARS-like virus could be passed between people and the Chinese officials further warned that the virus could mutate and spread further. In a bid to take precautionary measures, China has also locked down five cities, including Wuhan, Huanggang, Ezhou, Zhejiang, Qianjiang, suspending all public transport to contain the deadly virus. According to international media reports, the virus has further spread to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, South Korea, Beijing, Shanghai, Vietnam, Taiwan, US and Singapore. The mayor of the city of Wuhan has also urged citizens not to travel outside China during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday and the authorities have further issued a travel advisory warning in the backlash of coronavirus.  

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(with inputs from agencies)