Daily US Times, Madrid: A hotel in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands has been locked down after authorities discovered a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for coronavirus.
Spanish media reported that hundreds of guests at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel were initially told to stay in their rooms and wait for medical check-ups. Spanish authorities now carried out medical tests to find out whether any other guests have been infected.
The visiting doctor is reportedly from Italy’s Lombardy region, where authorities are battling an outbreak. More than 80,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed across the world mostly in mainland China. On Tuesday, Iran confirmed its deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, had tested positive for the virus. The country is one of the worst-affected nations outside China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) urges the world to 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%. But the Who said that the precise mortality rate is not known yet.
What was the latest from the hotel?
Veronica Martin, a Spanish health authority spokeswoman said the guests of the hotel were locked down 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 of the hotel posted a note from the authority on Facebook which said: “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.”
Another guest named John Turton said he and his wife also got the note but then heard people walking outside and heading to breakfast.
“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,” he said.