LAST UPDATE | 26 Feb 2020
THERE ARE NOW four confirmed cases of Covid-19 at a hotel in Tenerife where hundreds of tourists remain confined for a second straight day as a precaution.
It comes as a second virus-related death has been confirmed in France this morning.
Yesterday, an Italian doctor and his wife staying at the H10 Adeje Palace hotel tested positive for the disease which has so far killed 11 people in Italy. The couple are in quarantine at a Tenerife hospital.
Two other Italians who were part of the same group of holidaymakers who flew to the island and were staying at the hotel have also tested positive, health authorities on the Canary Islands said.
All four Italians with coronavirus in Tenerife are in “good condition”, the health minister with the regional government of the Canary Islands, Teresa Cruz, told a news conference.
All 723 guests at the hotel in Tenerife have been screened and those showing symptoms of coronavirus have been ordered to remain in their rooms while the rest can move around freely but cannot leave the hotel grounds, she added.
It is reported that two security perimeters remain around the hotel, while a “field hospital” has been set up to treat anybody with coronavirus symptoms.
The Canary Islands government said that more than 100 tourists at the hotel who are believed to have not had any contact with the Italian couples will be allowed to leave.
The UK’s Foreign Office has been in touch with around 160 Britons from the hotel, who have been told it is likely they will have to stay put for 14 days.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday that a number of Irish nationals staying in the area have made contact with it. The Department said it is providing consular assistance.
Anyone who has specific concerns regarding Irish citizens currently in the affected area can contact the Department on 01 408 2527.
“The Department and our embassy in Madrid are closely monitoring the situation. We are in touch with the local health and tourist authorities,” the Department said.
New cases
A 60-year-old Frenchman has died of coronavirus in a Paris hospital, the second virus-related death in France.
The head of France’s national health service, Jerome Salomon, confirmed the death today – but did not say where the man contracted the virus or provide any other details.
The man was among three new cases of the virus announced in France today.
One of the others is a 36-year-old man who had made repeated trips to the Italian virus-hit region of Lombardy, but he does not have any severe symptoms.
France is stepping up restrictions on people who have travelled from neighbouring Italy after a new outbreak of the virus there.
France has reported 17 cases of the virus, including two deaths. The first death was an 80-year-old tourist from China.
In Austria, authorities have placed an apartment complex in the southern town of Bad Kleinkirchheim under quarantine after a 56-year-old woman from Italy died overnight.
Kaernten state officials said tests are being conducted to determine whether the woman, from the town of Friaul in northern Italy, had the virus. Other residents of the apartment complex are also being tested.
Austria, Switzerland and Croatia on Tuesday reported their first cases of the virus, all involving people who had recently come from Italy.
- With reporting from PA and AFP
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