BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Weds. March 4, 2020, (Reuters) -Argentina has its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, according to a technician from an official laboratory that carried out the test.

Flavio Vergara, a technician at a private lab lab confirmed the virus.

“The result was positive,” Vergara said, declining to give further details of the case.

Argentinian Health Minister Ginés González García also confirmed on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, the first case of Coronavirus in the country on a patient who returned from a trip to Italy and is now isolated on a health center.

The first reported case in South America was reported in Brazil on Feb. 26th.

Since then Brazil has reported two confirmed cases while Ecuador and Mexico have reported five each.

(Reporting by Nicolas Misculin; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Bill Berkrot)