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HEALTH-VIRUS-AUSTRIA-HOTEL
Austria lifts lockdown of hotel over coronavirus
VIENNA, Feb 26, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Dozens of guests at an Austrian hotel hit
by the new coronavirus have been allowed to leave after a lockdown was
lifted, officials said on Wednesday.
Nine people were quarantined following medical tests at the hotel in the
Alpine city of Innsbruck, where an Italian receptionist tested positive for
the virus, the Tyrol state government said.
The woman and her partner, also from Italy, became Austria’s first
confirmed cases following an outbreak in neighbouring Italy.
Sixty-two people who had contact with the woman were tested at the Grand
Hotel Europa in Innsbruck — a tourist hub surrounded by mountains that host
major Alpine skiing competitions.
All of them were in good health but nine were put under quarantine for two
weeks “as a precaution”, a state government spokesman said.
Three other people who had close contact with the Italian receptionist were
also placed under isolation for two weeks, he said.
The woman and her partner, who were quarantined in an Innsbruck hospital
after developing a fever, tested positive for the new coronavirus on Tuesday
but are now said to be free of fever.
The couple, both 24 and from the virus-hit Italian region of Lombardy, had
travelled by car to Innsbruck last week.
Italy has seen a huge jump in cases in recent days, including 11 deaths.
According to the World Health Organization, the epidemic has peaked at its
epicentre in China, where it has killed more than 2,600 people and infected
over 77,000 others.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1502 hrs