Two new individuals have tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in Argentina to 19, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

The duo, both men, were infected abroad before returning to the country, officials said.

The first, a 42-year-old male from La Matanza, Buenos Aires Province, returned to Argentina on March 3 after a trip to Spain. Upon his return, he began to felt symptoms compatible with the disease. He approached a health centre on Monday, sources told Noticias Argentinas.

The second individual, aged 23, was diagnosed at the Hospital Muñiz in Parque Patricios. He had previously travelled to France.

City Health Ministry sources told reporters that there are 38 suspected Covid-19 cases under observation, whose samples are being analyzed by laboratories at the Malbrán Institute, while another 111 people who had come into contact with those individuals are also being monitored.

Throughout the country there are 19 cases of coronavirus, with one death attributed to the infectious disease: 10 in Buenos Aires City (in addition to the deceased), two in Chaco, three in Buenos Aires Province, one in San Luis, one in Códoba and one in Río Negro.

More than 119,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 4,200 have died. New clusters of the coronavirus are expanding in the United States and Europe as Italy replaces China as the new epicentre of a worldwide outbreak.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

-TIMES/NA