France reports first case of new SARS-like virus PARIS (Reuters) - France has identified its first case of a new strain of coronavirus emerging from the Middle East in a person recently returned from a stay in the United Arab Emirates, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry said it had opened an investigation into what it said was the first and only confirmed case of the new virus in France. The patient had been placed in isolation. Worldwide, there have been 30 laboratory-confirmed infections with the virus, including 18 deaths, since it came to scientists' attention in September, according to the World Health Organization. Reporting by Catherine Bremer; Editing by Janet Lawrence