Coronavirus: Ready to upgrade measures says Conte

(ANSA) - Rome, February 6 - Premier Giuseppe Conte said Thursday that his government was ready to take further action to avert the threat of the coronavirus after tests suggested an Italian national may have contracted the deadly disease. "We are talking about a health risk that requires us to make constant updates," Conte said after a meeting at the Civil Protection Department on the coronavirus. "We have to be flexible and, if it is appropriate, upgrade our measures so that the threshold of maximum precaution is maintained". Italy has suspended flights to and from China and passengers are being screened at airports to see if they have fever. "I have to thank the civil protection volunteers," said Conte.
    "In just a few hours they managed to organize a monitoring service that has involved 62,000 passengers on 521 international flights". An initial test on one of the 56 Italians airlifted back from the Chinese city of Wuhan this week and taken to the Cecchignola military facility on the outskirts of Rome for observation has indicated he may have the coronavirus, ANSA sources said Thursday. Further tests for positivity to the coronavirus will now be conducted, the sources said. The man was moved to the Spallanzani infectious-disease hospital in Rome after the initial tests raised the suspicion he has the coronavirus 2019-nCoV.
    "We have started running checks," Conte said.
    "At the moment there is no definitive outcome.
    "We hope it can turn out to be negative". A Chinese couple in a critical but stable condition at the Spallanzani are being treated with HIV and Ebola drugs too after coming to Italy as tourists, sources said Thursday.