LAST UPDATE | 25 Feb 2020
HUNDREDS OF TOURISTS at a hotel in Tenerife are being tested for the coronavirus after a confirmed case of Covid-19 was identified, according to local reports.
Spain’s El Pais newspaper is reporting that an Italian tourist who stayed at a hotel in the Adeje area tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday and has been admitted to hospital.
It is reported that nearly a thousand tourists have been put into isolation after being in the same hotel.
Health authorities are carrying out health checks on those who might have been in contact with the infected tourist, according to reports.
The press office for the town of Adeje confirmed that the restrictions are in place at the H10 Adeje Palace hotel.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that a number of Irish nationals staying in the area have made contact with it. The Department 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.
In Italy, 229 people have tested positive for the virus and seven have died. Police have manned checkpoints around a dozen quarantined northern towns as worries grew across Europe.
Austria temporarily has halted rail traffic across its border with Italy and Slovenia and Croatia, popular getaways for Italians, is holding crisis meetings.
The Irish government is now advising Irish citizens not to travel to several Italian towns.
These towns – Codogno, Castiglione d’Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano – have all seen travel restrictions placed on them by the Italian government.
Meanwhile, China has reported 508 new cases and another 71 deaths as of today, 68 of them in the central city of Wuhan, where the epidemic was first detected in December.
The updates bring mainland China’s totals to 77,658 cases and 2,663 deaths.
TheJournal.ie has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs to confirm whether any Irish people were staying at the hotel in question in Tenerife.
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