New coronavirus case confirmed at Tenerife hotel on lockdown

TENERIFE (Reuters) - An Italian national staying at a hotel in Tenerife which has been placed on lockdown after four cases of the coronavirus were detected has tested positive for the virus, regional health authorities confirmed on Saturday.

© Reuters/BORJA SUAREZ General view of H10 Costa Adeje Palace, which is on lockdown after cases of coronavirus have been detected there in Adeje

© Reuters/BORJA SUAREZ Tourists leave the hotel H10 Costa Adeje Palace, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje

The Italian national, part of the same group as the four original cases at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel, has been in isolation in a hotel room since Feb. 24 and will be taken to hospital, the Canary Islands' regional health authorities said, adding the Italian was "in good state of health".

© Reuters/BORJA SUAREZ Tourists leave the hotel H10 Costa Adeje Palace, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje

It brings the total number of active cases in the Canary Islands to six - five in Tenerife and one in La Gomera.

On Saturday, the fourth day of the hotel's lockdown, some of the 130 guests who had been cleared to leave on Friday were seen exiting its grounds with suitcases.

More than 700 tourists remain inside waiting out a 14-day isolation period imposed on Wednesday.

Hotel guest Christopher Betts, from Leicestershire in England told Reuters British tourists were being swabbed for the virus on Saturday, the first time they had been tested. They had previously been given thermometers to check their own temperatures.

© Reuters/BORJA SUAREZ A tourist leaves the hotel H10 Costa Adeje Palace, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje

The Canary Islands regional government said on Friday guests could leave before completing the full 14-day isolation period if foreign governments could provide charter flights and guarantee isolation and health protocols.

British Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliot said on Twitter that efforts were under way to support British nationals in the hotel and "to plan for (their) safe return."

Spain's number of active coronavirus cases rose to 49 on Saturday. The bulk of those are linked to Italy, which has Europe's worst outbreak, with some 900 cases and 21 deaths.

(Reporting by Guillermo Martinez and Nathan Allen, Writing by Jessica Jones; Editing by Mike Harrison and Timothy Heritage)