(ANSA) - Rome, March 2 - Monday saw the first case of the coronavirus in Rome as a policeman tested positive for COVID-19 at the capital's Spallanzani Hospital - and the number soon rose to 12 in Rome and its surrounding province.
The man's movements and contacts have been reconstructed, regional health councillor Alessio D'Amato said.
"The epidemiological link with the Lombardy region has been confirmed," said the councillor.
The policeman is the father of a student in Pomezia south of Rome who tested positive earlier, a case which led to the closure of his high school.
The school is the Liceo Pascal classical lycée.
The policeman is not in a serious condition, the Spallanzani said.
There are no indigenous hotspots in Lazio, the hospital said.
All cases were linked to Lombardy, Veneto, and from Monday also Emilia-Romagna, it said.
This latest case was a young fireman working at a barracks at Capannelle.
Positive cases in Rome and the surrounding province are now 12, the hospital said, with seven in hospital and the firman in isolation at the barracks.
The cases include the policeman's family: wife, two children and a sister-in-law.
They also include a mother, father and daughter at Fiumicino.
The tally includes a Chinese couple who are now testing negative, and a final case with a link to Veneto.
Sardinia has its first case of the coronavirus too, the regional government said on Monday.
It said a man in hospital in Cagliari had tested positive for the deadly virus.
The regional authority said the man's family and the people he had had contact with are set to be put under surveillance, adding that there no one was in a situation to cause alarm.
Milan's Duomo reopened Monday amid a welter of precautions after being closed for a week due to the coronavirus emergency. The secondary doors of the cathedral were opened for a brief prayer at 08:00. Visitors to the building were left in small groups starting at 09:00, according to a premier's office decree. The nave is cordoned off at the entrance since no Masses are being celebrated. But it can still be visited entering through the side doors.
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