Dominican Republic reports first case of coronavirus

Dominican Republic on Sunday reported its first case of coronavirus.

"Laboratory tests have confirmed the first case of COVID-19 virus brought from abroad," health minister Rafael Sanchez Cardenas said at a televised press conference.

According to Cardenas, the first carrier of coronavirus in the country is a 62-year-old Italian national, 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 the 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 has infected nearly 80,000 people in mainland China. While over 2,800 people have died, nearly 40,000 have recovered there.

According to the latest WHO data, the number of those infected outside China has exceeded 7,000, while over 100 people have died.