By Agence France-Presse
A Canadian tourist has the second confirmed case of the new coronavirus in the Dominican Republic, the public health ministry said Thursday.
The 70-year-old woman arrived in the Caribbean country on February 25 with her husband, who is not showing symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus that first appeared in China late last year.
The couple has been transferred from their hotel in Bayahibe, in the eastern part of the country, to a hospital isolation center in the capital Santo Domingo.
The first known case of coronavirus infection in the Dominican Republic was discovered Sunday in a 62-year-old Italian tourist, who was also staying in Bayahibe.
The man was hospitalized and is recovering, according to authorities.
The country established airport and border controls to combat the spread of the virus when the outbreak first took hold in China's Hubei province and has suspended flights from Milan for 30 days as the virus spreads near the Italian city.
There have been nearly 98,000 infections and some 3,300 deaths in 85 countries and territories throughout the world, according to a count by AFP.