BUENOS AIRES

Cuba confirmed its first three cases of the novel coronavirus Wednesday.

Citing the Cuban Public Health Ministry, local media reported that three Italian tourists who arrived in the capital Havana on March 9 have tested positive for the virus.

In Argentina, where the first death from the virus occurred in the region, 19 people have been diagnosed. Chile has 23 confirmed cases, Ecuador has 17, Brazil 52, Mexico eight, Peru 13, Costa Rica 22, Colombia nine, Panama eight, Paraguay five, the Dominican Republic five and Honduras two.

The coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, was first detected last December in Wuhan, China but has since spread to more than 105 countries.

The global death toll from the virus is nearly 4,300 with more than 118,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization, which has officially termed the spread of COVID-19 a global pandemic.