MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st March, 2020) Health Minister of the Dominican Republic Rafael Sanchez Cardenas on Sunday confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus infection in the tourist-rich Caribbean nation.
"Laboratory tests have confirmed the first case of COVID-19 virus brought from abroad," the health minister said at a televised press conference.
According to Sanchez Cardenas, the first carrier of coronavirus in the country is an Italian national, 62 who arrived in the Dominican Republic on February 22 without showing symptoms of the disease. The patient is stable in the military hospital in San Isidro Airbase.
The official also reported a second possible case of this disease � a patient from France, who is now waiting for test results in a hospital.
The novel coronavirus was first detected in China in late December and has since spread to more than 50 countries, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency. So far, the virus infected nearly 80,000 people in mainland China, while over 2,800 people died and nearly 40,000 have recovered. According to the latest WHO data, the number of those infected outside China has exceeded 7,000, while over 100 people have died.
