Coronavirus outbreak: France confirms first death of citizen

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the France health ministry confirmed the death of a 60-year-old man, who became the first French victim of the deadly coronavirus. In a televised statement, ministry's deputy head Jerome Salomon said that the man died overnight after being rushed to a Paris hospital. According to reports, the death toll in France has now reached to two, with 17 cases in total. 

The first victim was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist, who reportedly died in mid-February. In the past 24 hours, France also reported four other new cases of coronavirus and out of the four, two people returned from Italy. As per reports, the French government has asked citizens returning from Lombardy and the neighbouring Veneto region to avoid 'all non-essential outings' and keep their children home from school. 

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On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly said that the epidemic is China's 'largest public health emergency' since its founding in 1949. Jinping further called the outbreak a 'crisis' and said that the epidemic has the 'fastest transmission' and the widest range of infection which has been the most difficult to prevent and control. 

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Death toll surpasses 2,700

Meanwhile, the death toll in China has surpassed 2,700 and the National Health Commission reportedly confirmed 406 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China also hit nearly 78,000. First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 25 countries since December 2019 and more than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,500 coronavirus patients have by now been reportedly discharged from hospitals.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also claimed that the biggest fear for the organisation is that the virus will continue to spread to other countries and especially those with weaker health systems. Furthermore, the organisation has also called on the world to pledge $675 million in support of the most vulnerable countries. 

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