Italy retrieves citizens from China hit by fatal virus

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - Some 60 Italian nationals on Monday retrieved from China, the epicenter of novel coronavirus, according to the local media reports.

The plane carrying Italians landed at the Pratica di Mare military base near Rome, according to Italy’s official news agency ANSA.

One Italian national remained in Wuhan city -- where the virus was first detected -- because he had a fewer and was not allowed to leave as international health protocols dictate, it added.

People will be quarantined for two weeks -- the virus’s incubation period.

Italy reported its first confirmed coronavirus cases Friday with two Chinese citizens hospitalized earlier in the week.

The country also declared state of emergency for six months and earmarked €5 million ($5.5 million) later in the day after the confirmed cases.

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus outbreak climbed to 361, the country’s National Health Commission said Monday.

In a statement, the commission said it has so far received a total of 17,205 confirmed cases, adding that a total of 57 people died over the last 24 hours.

Besides China, the virus has spread to more than 24 countries, including Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, the U.S., United Arab Emirates, the U.K., Philippines, France, Germany, North Korea, South Korea, Canada, Vietnam, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Nepal, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Finland and India.

A 44-year-old man reportedly died of the coronavirus in the Philippines, becoming the first confirmed death outside China, according to a local office of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday. The patient was a Chinese national from Wuhan city.

The virus is said to have been transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats.

It raised alarm globally with cases reported across Asia, Europe, the U.S. and Canada.

Spain confirmed Saturday its first case in one of five German tourists who were suspected for infection in La Gomera, one of the islands in Spain’s Canary Island chain.

The U.S. declared a public health emergency due to the new type of coronavirus epidemic.

Russia on Saturday suspended the visa-free travel for tourists to and from China.

Travelers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide and several airlines suspended flights to Wuhan.

The WHO declared the outbreak an international emergency.