Tenerife hotel on partial lockdown as Italian man tests positive for coronavirus

Dozens of tourists were being asked to remain in their rooms at a hotel on the Spanish resort island of Tenerife on Tuesday, as a male Italian guest and his travel companion tested positive in an initial test for the novel coronavirus overnight.

Italy has reported 283 cases and seven deaths from the coronavirus, and authorities there are scrambling to contain the rapid viral spread.

There are at least two confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Spain.

In a written note, published on Twitter by one of the hotel guests, the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife asked everyone “to stay in their rooms due to health reasons” as “the hotel has been locked down.”

“Following the report of a possible coronavirus case detected in a customer from Italy, staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace, H10 Hotels has implemented all health and operational recommendations from the health authorities to ensure the safety and wellbeing of customers and employees,” a communications representative for the H10 hotel group said in a statement.

“Additionally, we are providing customers and hotel staff all the necessary care and attention so that, despite the inconveniences this situation may cause, they are taken care of in the best way possible,” the hotel group spokesperson added.

A spokeswoman for the Canary Island health department told CNN that only guests who might have had contact with the Italian man were being asked to stay in their rooms. According to travel company TUI, the hotel has 467 rooms.

“We are not calling it a quarantine, we are monitoring and undertaking health checks on all people that might have had a contact with the coronavirus patient — that includes people from the hotel, not all of them,” the spokeswoman said.

The regional government will hold a meeting today to evaluate the situation, she said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Canary Islands’ health department confirmed that a woman traveling with the Italian citizen quarantined in Tenerife had also tested positive for the virus, and was awaiting a second test.

Authorities said both patients were in “good condition,” and confirmed that all guests staying in the hotel will be given health screenings.