Paris (AFP)

The risk of introduction into France of the coronavirus similar to SARS which has already killed six people in China is "low but cannot be excluded", said the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn on Tuesday.

"Our health system is well prepared, health establishments have been informed and recommendations for care have been issued," the minister said during a press briefing to the ministry.

"The risk of introduction into France is low but cannot be excluded, especially since there are direct airlines" with Wuhan, the Chinese city epicenter of this epidemic, she added.

A suspect case in France was finally "totally excluded", said the Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon.

"A French citizen presented respiratory symptoms a few days after a stay in Wuhan. He was taken in isolation in a reference establishment. He is fine, went home, all the virological examinations (carried out at the National Center of Institut Pasteur reference) are negative, "he said.

In case of doubt, people are invited to "stay at home" to avoid contact and to call 15, added Jérôme Salomon, also stressing the effectiveness of "barrier measures" (hand washing, etc.) to avoid contamination.

Warning messages are broadcast on direct flights to and from Wuhan and posters reminding the action to be taken in the event of symptoms are displayed at international airports, said Agnes Buzyn.

France, on the other hand, has not put in place a systematic temperature control of travelers from China, unlike other countries such as Russia and Thailand, since this measure is "not recommended by the Organization World Health Organization "is" complex to set up "and" not very effective, "said Salomon.

In addition, passengers departing from Wuhan are already being detected, he said.

China has recorded nearly 300 cases of this respiratory disease on its territory and a total of six deaths in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic which has infected several other people in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan.

WHO will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to declare a "public health emergency of international concern".

The offending strain is a new type of coronavirus, a family with a large number of viruses. They can cause mild illnesses in humans (like a cold) but also other more serious ones like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Zhong Nanshan, a Chinese scientist with the National Health Commission, said on Monday evening that contagious transmission between people was "proven". It was the first time that such an assertion was made publicly.

© 2020 AFP