TBILISI

Georgia confirmed its first coronavirus case on Wednesday.

The minister of health and social affairs, Ekaterine Tikaradze, announced that a Georgian national who returned from Iran via Azerbaijan on Tuesday had contracted the COVID-19 virus.

Urging calm, Tikaradze said border staff who inspected the infected man at the border gate were also taken to the hospital for medical check.

The novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has sounded global alarms, with China, the epicenter of an outbreak, reporting around 2,700 deaths and health experts grappling to find a cure.

Outside mainland China, the virus has spread to more than 30 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin