Coronavirus: American student, Ecuadoran traveller among five cases in Czech Republic

The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the Czech Republic has risen to five, the country’s health minister said on Tuesday. The first three, reported on Sunday, involved two Czechs who had been in northern Italy and an American studying in Milan.

A young Ecuadoran woman who was travelling with the American student has now tested positive after being retested. The fifth patient is a woman from Ústí nad Labem, northern Bohemia, who had returned from Italy on Friday.

The National Security Council is meeting again on Wednesday after having convened on Monday, when ministers announced restrictions on flights to South Korea and barred spectators at the upcoming World Cup biathlon.

The Czech government is looking to ban flights from northern Italy, pending consultation with the European Commission. The interior minister is pushing to declare a State of Emergency.

Author: Brian Kenety