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Facebook/Alison Frawley
Security forces are reportedly preventing people from leaving the hotel
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, Spanish media report.
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.
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.
What’s the latest from the hotel in Tenerife?
El Pais newspaper quoted police sources as saying health authorities had ordered the monitoring of guests at the four-star hotel in the south-west of the island.
One guest on Facebook posted 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.”
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.”
Another guest, Christopher Betts, told Reuters news agency: “We can see from the window there are security officers outside the hotel and about 50 hotel employees.”
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John Turton
An image of police outside the hotel, sent to the BBC by a guest
He also said the guests had been given no information and that he had not yet been tested.
The Italian doctor, who had been staying at the hotel with his wife, tested positive on Monday and has been placed in isolation at the University Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. He will undergo a second test to confirm the virus.
Previously, Spain had had two confirmed cases, both tourists – one German and one British.
What’s happening with the virus globally?
On Tuesday, a plane carrying more than 130 passengers and crew from the Iranian capital, Tehran, to Istanbul was diverted to the Turkish capital, Ankara, amid suspicion of infections on board. Turkey’s health minister said all would be quarantined for 14 days.
Iran, one of the worst affected nations outside China, on Tuesday announced three more deaths, raising fatalities there to 15.
Italy is also badly affected with the largest number of cases in Europe – 231. Seven people have died. It announced a series of drastic measures over the weekend to try to contain the outbreak.
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In the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, a lockdown is in place in several small towns. For the next two weeks, 50,000 residents will not be able to leave without special permission.
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.
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The US plans to spend $2.5bn (£1.93bn) fighting the coronavirus, with funds for quarantine, vaccine research and aiding affected states, US media reported. There are 53 cases in the country so far.
Japanese media reported that a fourth passenger on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise liner had died. The country has confirmed more than 850 people are infected, most of them on the liner.
Gulf states, including the UAE and Bahrain, have imposed more flight restrictions in an effort to try to slow the spread of the virus.
And the coronavirus outbreak has continued to hit shares, with Japan’s markets slumping in the wake of big falls in London and New York.
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- Why did virus infections skyrocket in South Korea?
- BTS ask fans to avoid shows over coronavirus fears
What are the symptoms?
The main signs of infection are fever (high temperature) and a cough as well as shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
What should I do?
Frequent hand washing with soap or gel, avoiding close contact with people who are ill and not touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands can help cut the risk of infection.
Catching coughs and sneezes in a tissue, binning it and washing your hands can minimise the risk of spreading disease.
What does ‘pandemic’ mean?
- A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease
- The H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak, which killed hundreds of thousands of people, was declared a pandemic by the WHO in 2009
- The WHO no longer formally labels an outbreak of disease a “pandemic” but says the term may be used “colloquially”
- Its advice to countries – to limit the infections while preparing for wider spread – remains the same
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