BISHKEK, Krygyzstan
The Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday announced its first confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Speaking at a press conference, Health Minister Kosmosbek Colponbayev said three people who returned from Umrah pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on March 12 tested positive for the disease known as COVID-19.
Colponbayev added they are currently under house quarantine.
Following the announcement, authorities banned entry and exit to the Suzak district of the southwestern Jalal-Abad region, where the patients live.
Worldwide, out of over 197,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 7,900, while more than 81,000 patients have recovered, according to Worldometer,
