Paris (AFP)

The star of the French volleyball team Earvin Ngapeth, who plays in the Russian club of Kazan, announced to be hospitalized because of the new coronavirus, Thursday on Instagram.

"I tested positive at # covid19 a week ago now," said Earvin Ngapeth in a text accompanying a photo of him in bed in a hospital room posted on social networks.

"The hardest part is behind me, I spent 3 complicated days but it's now over, I'm leaving the hospital in a week", specifies the strong man of the Blues, qualified since January for the Tokyo Olympics .

The 29-year-old receptionist-attacker took the opportunity to pass on the instruction, not always respected in France: "Stay well all at home, he insists, it does not happen only to others".

Russia announced Thursday the first death of a patient infected with the coronavirus, an elderly woman died however of another cause according to the authorities which officially count in their statistics 199 cases but still no death.

© 2020 AFP