Prime News Ghana

Coronavirus: Tenerife hotel with hundreds of guests locked down

By Wendy Amarteifio
coronavirus
Coronavirus: Tenerife hotel with hundreds of guests locked down
Shares
facebook sharing button Share
twitter sharing button Tweet
email sharing button Email
sharethis sharing button Share

A hotel in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands has been locked down after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for coronavirus.

Hundreds of guests at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel were initially told to stay in their rooms as medical tests were carried out.

The doctor is reportedly from the Lombardy region, where Italian authorities are battling an outbreak.

Global cases of the virus have passed 80,000, the vast majority in China.

Iran, one of the worst-affected nations outside China, on Tuesday said its deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, had tested positive for the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday the world should do more to prepare for a possible pandemic - a situation where an infectious disease spreads easily between people in many countries.

The proportion of infected people who die appears to be between 1% and 2%, although the WHO cautions that the precise mortality rate is not known yet.

Agence France-Presse quoted a health authority spokeswoman, Veronica Martin, as saying that guests at the four-star hotel in the south-west of the island were being monitored for "health reasons and the degree of supervision will be assessed during the day, but so far, we're not talking about quarantine".

One guest posted on Facebook an image of a note put under the door of their room on Tuesday saying: "We regret to inform you that for health reasons, the hotel has been closed down. Until the sanitary authorities warn, you must remain in your rooms.

READ ALSO:Coronavirus: Worst-hit countries boost containment efforts

"Another guest, John Turton, told the BBC he and his wife had seen the note but then heard people walking outside and heading to breakfast.

He said: "The hotel has been cordoned off but we're trying to make the best of what's going on. We haven't been given any more information other than the note but we're going to just wait, try and enjoy the holiday and see what happens."Italy is badly affected, with the largest number of confirmed cases in Europe. It raised that total on Tuesday to 283. Seven people have died.

It announced a series of drastic measures over the weekend to try to contain the outbreak. The regions of Lombardy and Veneto have locked down several small towns. For the next two weeks, 50,000 residents will not be able to leave without special permission.

However, there are signs the virus is spreading, with new cases reported on Tuesday in Tuscany and Sicily. Still, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his country remained safe for travel and tourism.

China, the source of the outbreak, still has by far the largest number of infections - more than 77,000 - and deaths, 2,663. The bulk of the cases are in the city of Wuhan.

South Korea's infections rose to 977 on Tuesday, with 10 deaths. Americans have been warned against all but essential travel to the nation.

Credit:BBC