Five Brits test positive for coronavirus in France

Five British nationals including a child have tested positive for the new coronavirus in France, the health minister said Saturday, adding that they had all been staying at the same ski chalet. France has now detected a total of 11 cases of the novel coronavirus, and the new "cluster" is centered on a Briton who had returned from Singapore and stayed in Contamines-Montjoie, near Mont Blanc in the French Alps, Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said.

"They show no serious signs" of a life-threatening infection added Buzyn, herself a doctor. In addition to the five Britons who have tested positive for the virus, six other Britons staying in the same chalet in late January were also hospitalized for observation, the minister said.

Authorities are now seeking to contact people who came into close contact with the initially infected Brit, she said. Most of the six previous cases in France appear to have been treated successfully, though all are still in the hospital.