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Mexico confirms first 2 cases of coronavirus

One of the patients is in Mexico City and the other in the northern state of Sinaloa, and neither is seriously ill

Mexico's assistant health secretary says the country now has two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Friday that one of the patients is in Mexico City and the other in the northern state of Sinaloa, and neither is seriously ill. At least five family contacts have been placed in isolation.

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He said that one of the men had contact with someone who had traveled to the northern Italian region where that country has seen a local outbreak. On Wednesday, Brazil confirmed Latin America's first confirmed case of the contagious new coronavirus in a man who traveled to Italy this month.

Global markets have suffered as concerns over COVID-19 outbreaks continue. 

The deepening global rout is fueled by fears the spreading virus that emerged in China in December will derail global trade and other industries. Investors had appeared confident governments were bringing the outbreak under control, but forecasters warned such optimism likely was premature.

A growing list of major companies are issuing profit warnings and say factory shutdowns in China are disrupting supply chains. They say travel bans and other anti-disease measures also are hurting Chinese consumer spending.

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