France: Turkish citizen dies of coronavirus

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - A Turkish national living in northern France died of coronavirus known as COVID-19, putting the latest death toll in the country to seven, according to Turkish diplomatic sources on Friday.

Halil B. was living in France’s northern city of Soissons and taken to hospital due to respiratory insufficiency on Saturday.

French authorities did not allow transportation of his body to Turkey, according to the sources.

There are currently 423 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in France.

First detected in China's Wuhan city last December, the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, 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”.

* Writing by Handan Kazanci in Istanbul.