Turkish citizen dies of coronavirus in France

ANKARA/PARIS

A Turkish national living in northern France died of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, putting the latest death toll in the country to seven, state-run Anadolu Agency said on March 6.

Identified only as Halil B., the Turkish citizen was living in France's northern city of Soissons. He was hospitalized due to respiratory insufficiency on Feb. 29.

French authorities did not allow transportation of his body to Turkey, the agency said citing anonymous sources.

There are currently 423 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in France.

First detected in China's Wuhan city last December, the coronavirus has infected 85 countries worldwide.

The global death toll is nearing 3,300, with more than 95,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO, which had declared the outbreak an international health emergency, recently updated the global risk level to “very high”.