UPDATE - Northern Cyprus reports first coronavirus case

UPDATED* WITH SCHOOL CLOSING IN TRNC, RELATED NEWS IN SOUTHERN CYPRUS

By Muhammet Ikbal Aslan

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (AA) - The first coronavirus case in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was announced Tuesday.

Health Minister Ali Pilli said a 65-year-old tourist from Germany had tested positive for coronavirus, or COVID-19.

Pilli told Turkish News Agency-Cyprus that a group of 30 tourists from Balingen, Germany arrived at a hotel in the city of Gazimagusa on Sunday via private shuttle.

The infected woman was taken to a public hospital in Gazimagusa where she is undergoing treatment and in good condition, he said, adding that the hotel is now under quarantine.

The news follows yesterday’s announcement that two cases of the virus have been found in Southern Cyprus, the first to be confirmed on the divided island.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also announced that schools will be closed until March 15 as a precautionary measure.

The disease has spread to at least 100 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The global death toll is now over 3,800, with more than 110,000 confirmed cases, most of them in China.

As part of efforts to contain the outbreak, some governments closed their borders and suspended land and air travel with many countries including China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea.

In a Monday press briefing, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom said that the threat of a coronavirus pandemic has “become very real."

*Writing by Merve Aydogan in Ankara