Chinese tourist in France is Europe's first coronavirus death

JEFF PACHOUD / AFP

An 80-year-old Chinese tourist has become the first fatality from coronavirus in Europe.

He was being treated at a hospital in the French capital after developing a lung infection from the COVID-19. 

"This is the first fatality by the coronavirus outside Asia, the first death in Europe," French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn told reporters.

The Chinese national, who was originally from Hubei province, had arrived in France on January 16, along with his daughter, who has been cleared of the infection. 

Of the 12 cases reported in France so far, four have recovered successfully.

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