French health authorities confirm France's first case of a new strain of coronavirus on Wednesday.<br/> <br />The 65 year-old man from northern France contracted the virus during a visit to Dubai.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH HEALTH AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS MINISTER, MARISOL TOURAINE, SAYING:<br/> <br />"This coronavirus case concerns one person coming back from a stay in the UAE. A man, hospitalised in Valenciennes on April 23 and then transferred to the medical centre in Douai on April 29. He's in isolation in an intensive care ward."<br/> <br />The potentially fatal condition first identified in Saudi Arabia has now spread to several European countries including the United Kingdom.<br/> <br />The coronavirus is from the same viral family that triggered the SARS outbreak in 2003 that killed over 700 people.
