Coronavirus update of events reported so far

Coronavirus update - A new fatal case of coronavirus contamination in France. The Ministry of Health has announced on Wednesday February 26 that three new cases had been confirmed in France overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. One of them, a 60-year-old Frenchman was hospitalised "in a very serious state" on Tuesday evening at the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, he is reported to have died overnight.

The two other new cases in France are a 55-year-old man hospitalized in Amiens (Somme), who is "in a serious clinical situation", in intensive care. An "investigation is underway" concerning him. The second case is a 36-year-old man hospitalized in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin). "He had returned from Lombardy and shows no signs of seriousness,".

Seventeen cases identified in France. A total of 17 cases of people infected with this virus have been identified in France, including five since Tuesday. In addition to the patient who died overnight, an octogenarian Chinese tourist died on February 14th.

Negative results for high school students. Several high school students from Hauts-de-Seine, hospitalized on their return from Italy, were "tested negatively", said the Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, on Wednesday morning. The results of the tests of a fifth high school student are still awaited.

The virus is gaining ground in Italy. The country remains the most affected in Europe, with more than 300 people infected and ten dead, according to a final report by the authorities on Tuesday. After Veneto and Lombardy, cases were identified in three new regions - Tuscany, Sicily and Liguria.

First cases in Austria, Switzerland or Algeria. Austria has announced the first two cases of coronavirus in the Tyrol region, bordering Italy. Switzerland has also announced a first case in a region close to Italy, while in Croatia, the first known case in the Balkans has been identified. Algeria also announced that it had identified a first case of contamination.

The United States is preparing. The Donald Trump administration intends to devote $ 2.5 billion (2.3 billion euros) to the fight against the disease. US health officials expect the epidemic to spread to the United States, encouraging schools, businesses and local governments to consider precautionary measures, such as the cancellation of public events.