France has confirmed its first death caused by the coronavirus. Photo: Getty ImagesAn 80-year-old Chinese tourist has died of the fast-spreading coronavirus in France, becoming the first fatality in Europe, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn says. France has recorded 12 cases of the virus, out of a global total of 67,000. "This is the first fatality by the coronavirus outside Asia, the first death in Europe," Buzyn told reporters. Until the death in France, there had been three deaths outside China - one in Japan, one in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 15, 2020 22:07 UTC