Serbian scientists set first Europe's coronavirus death at February 5, 2020

Milenko Bogdanovic, a forensic pathologist poses for a picture at the Institute for Forensic Medicine of Belgrade's Medical Faculty, in Belgrade, Serbia, February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

BELGRADE (Reuters) - COVID-19 caused the death of a man in Serbia last February, 10 days before the first fatality from the disease in Europe was reported by France, a study by researchers in Belgrade has found.

A 56-year-old construction worker from Belgrade, who had not travelled abroad, was admitted on Feb. 5, 2020 to hospital suffering from fever, cough and shortness of breath. He died within hours and an autopsy showed pneumonia was the cause.