Brasil is the first Latin American country to identify a case of coronavirus

On Tuesday (25), Brazil became the first Latin American country to report a case of coronavirus. At around noon, a 61 year old man tested positive for the infection at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, in a southern suburb of the city of São Paulo.

In order to confirm the case, the Health Ministry is awaiting a more in depth analysis, the results of which should be made public on Wednesday (26), by the Adolfo Lutz Institute, the leading public health laboratory in the country.

According to a press release by the hospital, the man, who is under house quarantine and is showing symptoms such as a cough, was admitted on Monday (24). Shortly thereafter, the state Epidemic Control Board was notified.

“The patient is in good clinical standing, with no need for internment, remaining in respiratory isolation which will last for the next 14 days. Our medical teams continue to monitor him closely, as well as those who had contact with him”.

The government, through the National Sanitation Inspection Agency (Anvisa), affirmed that it will map all those who had contact with the person, and that Brazil has “critically raised the scrutiny of international flights stemming from countries with confirmed cases of the disease”.

The patient, whose identity has not been revealed, was in Italy between the 9^th and 21^st of January, more specifically in the Lombardia region, where the first cases of the virus in the country were identified. As of Wednesday (26), around 320 people in Italy have been infected, and 11 have died from the illness. Worldwide, around 80 thousand people have been infected, with 2700 having died as a result.

Second suspected case awaits confirmation

Local newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reports that a confirmation test for a patient who had previously been suspected of contracting the disease, has come back positive. According to them, the man tested positive for the virus at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo. Further testing will be conducted and the results will be announced by the Health Ministry on Wednesday (26).