In a press statement Friday, the Spanish Ministry of Health announced the country's first coronavirus case: a German tourist at a hospital in the Canary Islands, far from the mainland. The statement notes the patient has been isolated.
The statement noted that Health Minister Salvador Illa will give a fuller statement and more details on Saturday, following a ministerial meeting on the crisis.
#ULTIMAHORA
— Ainara Guezuraga Gabikagogeaskoa (@ainaraguezuraga) January 31, 2020
Primer positivo por Coronavirus en España, en La Gomera pic.twitter.com/Q179TPmFKt
The virus, which broke out in Wuhan, China, late last year, has reached 23 countries and infected nearly 10,000 people, 249 of whom have died from the illness. The disease is related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), another illness that broke out in China in 2002-3, killing hundreds before being subdued.
The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency on Thursday, and several countries have banned air travel to and from China. The US Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, said on Friday that people returning from China will face a 14-day quarantine in order to protect the US population.
