Belgium has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus after a Belgian who had recently returned from China’s Wuhan, the outbreak's epicentre, tested positive for the disease, Belgium’s Federal Public Service (FPS) said on Tuesday.
L'un de nos compatriotes rapatriés a été testé positif au nouveau coronavirus https://t.co/VOGATRhrcc
— SPF Santé publique (@SanteBelgique) February 4, 2020
The new strain of coronavirus was first detected in December in Wuhan and has since spread to over 20 countries. The epidemic has already left over 420 people dead and over 20,000 infected.
Belgium is the ninth European country to have confirmed a coronavirus case on its soil. The other European countries that reported the virus are France, Germany, Finland, Italy, the UK, Sweden, Russia and Spain.