Now Austria and Croatia have coronavirus: Health officials confirm three more cases of the deadly infection as number of patients in Italy approaches 300
- The confirmed cases have been announced after a surge in infections in Italy
- Both of the patients are Italian nationals and thought to have caught it there
- They were diagnosed in Tyrol in western Austria, a popular skiing destination
- More than 80,000 people around the world have caught the coronavirus
Austria has become the latest country to be struck by the killer coronavirus that is continuing to rapidly sweep the world.
Health authorities in Tyrol – a region on the Austria/Italy border which is known for its ski resorts – this morning confirmed two cases of COVID-19 in two Italians.
The state’s governor believes the patients caught the virus in Lombardy, the Italian region that has been battered by the deadly infection.
More than 80,000 people across the world have been infected, while at least 2,700 are known to have died from the pneumonia-causing virus.
Europe’s biggest outbreak is in Italy, which has recorded at least 283 confirmed cases and seven deaths – up from just six cases on Friday.
They are two Italians who live in the province and were probably infected in Italy’s Lombardy region, Tyrol governor Guenther Platter was quoted as saying by local media (pictured, a view of the Brenner highway in Tyrol)
A public broadcaster in Austria, ORF, said the patients have slight fevers and are being looked after at a hospital in Innsbruck.
They are both from Italy and live in Austrian Tyrol, but are thought to have caught the virus from the Lombardy region of Italy.
It is not clear whether they visited the region recently.