MADRID: A man in the Spanish region of Valencia has died from coronavirus, marking the country’s first death from the outbreak, a local health official said on Tuesday.
Tests carried out post-mortem showed the man, who died on Feb. 13, was killed by the virus, regional health chief Ana Barcelo told a press conference.
Confirmation came after what was described as a ‘retrospective investigation’ following the death of the man – who had travelled to Nepal.
At the time it was put down to a type of pneumonia of unknown origin.
Confirming the death as it went public with another case of the virus, the regional health authority said: ‘We can confirm two new cases of coronavirus in the Valencian Community, which takes the number of cases to 19 positives.
News of the death came shortly after Spain’s Health Ministry announced on its Twitter page that several sporting events would be held behind closed doors, while medical conferences will be canceled in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.
Spain now has 165 cases of coronavirus, with 46 of them in Madrid.
Seven of the patients are in intensive care.
Authorities are monitoring two clusters of the infection in Torrejon de Ardoz, a suburban city close to Madrid with a population of around 130,000, and one in the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
(with inputs from Agencies)
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