A 78-year-old woman on Sunday became the first person to die of the new coronavirus in Bolivia, which has reported 81 confirmed cases, AFP quoted the government as having announced.

Health Minister Anibal Cruz told reporters the woman, who was hospitalised in the department of Santa Cruz, had been in stable condition.

“During the night she grew worse, and was transferred to intensive care. She died this morning,” he said.

More than half the country's confirmed cases have been in Santa Cruz, an eastern province where authorities said stay-at-home appeals have not been heeded.