Published 22:51 IST, March 2nd 2020
Portugal announces first case of Coronavirus, another presumptive case being monitored
Portugal has reportedly announced its first confirmed case of Coronavirus after a Portuguese man tested positive, another case is pending confirmation
- World News
- 2 min read
Portugal has reportedly announced its first confirmed case of Coronavirus after a Portuguese man tested positive for the disease, confirmed Portuguese Health Ministry on March 2. Another case of Coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, is pending confirmation. The individual suspected on being infected is under counter examination, Portuguese Health Minister Marta Temido told Portuguese media.
According to international news reports, both the patients were admitted at a hospital in Porto and were in a better health condition despite contracting the virus. The confirmed case is a 60-year-old doctor who had recently travelled to Italy, and the pending case undergoing health screenings is a 33-year-old man who had returned from Valencia, Spain.
Coronavirus has spread to at least 18 countries in the European Union as the malignant pathogen has claimed over 3,000 lives globally and continues to infect citizens worldwide. Over 88,000 have been infected worldwide as per news reports.
Portuguese Health Minister Temido said in a news conference that the ministry would step up the containment efforts and will start screening the passengers across all the flights at the airport, including the flights coming from Italy in addition to the passengers from China.
EU raised risk level to high
Temido further added saying that a Chinese national was taken off the train on March 1 after he complained of fever, cough, and throat pain. She said that the man was immediately rushed to the hospital and was quarantined. His samples are yet to be confirmed positive to establish the infection from the strain of Coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the EU commission clarified that the current assessment risk from the Coronavirus has been revised after the level was raised from moderate to high. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told media that the decision comes as the illness spread to most of the European countries, with Portugal reporting its first confirmed case and a presumptive case.
(With Agency Inputs)
Updated 22:51 IST, March 2nd 2020