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Mexico confirms first 2 cases of coronavirus

CASALPUSTERLENGO, ITALY - FEBRUARY 23: A man wearinig a respiratory mask and gloves is pictured on February 23, 2020 in Casalpusterlengo, south-west Milan, Italy. Casalpusterlengo is one of the ten small towns placed under lockdown earlier this morning as a second death from coronavirus sparked fears throughout the Lombardy region. (Photo by Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — 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. 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.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador appeared to downplay the seriousness of the Covid-19 virus, saying “it isn’t even equivalent to influenza.”