RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's government has confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in Latin America.
The health minister said Wednesday that a 61-year-old man who traveled to Italy's Lombardy region has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
The man had begun to show symptoms compatible with the illness, like a dry cough, throat pain and flu symptoms, and so was tested for the virus.
Since the illness began to spread throughout the world, Brazil and other countries in the region have registered dozens of suspected cases, all of which previously had been discarded.
With this South American case, the virus has now been reported in every continent except Antarctica.
