A US Navy sailor stationed in Italy has contacted the novel coronavirus, marking the first positive case for a US service member in Europe, the US military command said Saturday.

“Military health professionals are conducting a thorough contact investigation to determine whether any other personnel may have been exposed,” the US European Command said in a statement.

“Depending on the results of that investigation, additional precautionary measures may be taken.”

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The service member was stationed in Naples, Italy, and is currently “restricted to their residence”, the statement said.

The US European Command and the US Pacific Command comprise the two US foreign combatant commands.

The European one has 70,000 military and civilian personnel and has relations with NATO and 51 countries.

On February 26, US Forces Korea said that a 23-year-old soldier based in South Korea had tested positive as well.

Italy and South Korea are among the countries to have reported the highest number of coronavirus cases to date.

In another news, around 70 people were trapped after the collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China on Saturday evening, officials said.

At least 38 people have so far been rescued from the rubble of the 80-room Xinjia hotel in coastal Quanzhou city, said the local government.

Footage circulating on microblogging platform Weibo showed rescue workers combing through the building’s wreckage in the dark and reassuring a woman trapped under heavy debris as other wounded victims were carried into ambulances.

[AFP]

Vanguard News Nigeria.