Argentina confirms first coronavirus case: health ministry

Argentina and Chile both said on Tuesday they had confirmed their first cases of new coronavirus in patients who recently returned from travels.

A 43-year-old infected Argentine man had returned from Italy while a 33-year-old Chilean man had spent a month in southeast Asia.

Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia said the Argentine patient has been in isolation since presenting himself to a private health clinic.

"We've identified a first case. It's a patient who came from Italy" but had also traveled around other parts of Europe, said Gonzalez Garcia.

The minister, who added that "fortunately the case is not complicated," said Argentina was prepared to tackle the virus.

Chile's Health Minister Jaime Manalich said the 33-year-old patient had been taken to hospital in the city of Talca, around 350 kilometers (220 miles) to the south of the capital Santiago.