Colombia recorded its first case of novel coronavirus on Friday as the numbers of infected persons topped 101,000 around the world.
According to Colombia’s Ministry of Health, coronavirus was confirmed in a 19-year old woman who arrived in the country from Milan, Italy, showing signs of the disease and who sought-out medical assistance in a Bogotá hospital. The National Institute of Health confirmed the medical tests.
With the confirmation of the first case, Colombian joins 84 nations with novel coronavirus infections and respiratory illness that has claimed the lives of 3,460 since it was first detected at the end of December 2019 in Wuhan, China.
According to Bogotá Mayor Claudia López, the Colombian student returned to Bogotá on February 26 and was admitted to the Fundación Santa Fe on March 2. López took to Twitter with the confirmation by the Ministry of Health to appease the nerves of Bogotanos, writing: “Calm, no panic.”
Colombia effectively enters a “control stage” of the infection after weeks of heightened containment measures at all entry points of the country. Brazil, Chile, Peru and Ecuador have all confirmed COVID-19 in their countries.
“We have been preparing during the last eight weeks for the arrival of coronavirus,” said the Ministry of Health in a statement.
The patient’s name has not been released.
