PARIS — The Chinese government has taken appropriate measures to fight the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, a French minister told local media on Feb 14.

"The measures that the Chinese government has taken are the right ones... to dry up the source of the virus and prevent its spread," French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn told France Inter radio.

"So, we must continue in this direction in China and elsewhere," she said, adding that China has taken every possible measure. "No one has ever imagined quarantining cities of tens of millions of people."

"And that is the only measure that works today," she said.

France is among the first European countries to have confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia. Of the 11 infected people in France, three were cured and left the hospital earlier this week, two were hospitalized in Paris and one in the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

Meanwhile, the minister warned that "given the seriousness of the epidemic, given the number of cases, it is very likely that we will have new cases in the coming weeks."