First coronavirus death In Europe

An 80-year-old Chinese tourist from Hubei who’s been in an isolation ward at Bichat hospital in Paris since January 25 has passed away, according to French Health Minister, Agnes Buzy.

Another 143 deaths from Covid-19 were reported in mainland China on Saturday morning taking the total to 1,523, but the number of people being diagnosed on a daily basis has plummeted to around 2,641 and there are now more than 67,000 people with the virus worldwide.

In the UK, Health Officials scrambled to contact more than 200 people, including several MPs, who attended a UK Bus Summit at the QEII Centre in central London on February 6, after one of the delegates tested positive.

Dr Yimmy Chow, Health Protection Consultant at PHE, says tracking down people at risk is a challenge, but the chances of contracting the disease is minimal.

"One of our main priorities has been to identify anyone we think has been in close contact with confirmed cases of Covid-19 to provide public health advice, as they may be at slightly increased risk of catching the virus.”

He added, ”While the degree of contact conference delegates may have had with the person who is positive is unlikely to have been significant, we have taken a precautionary approach and informed them of the situation.”