The spread of coronavirus in Europe has been associated with the growing outbreak in Italy. The cases in Austria, Croatia, and Switzerland involved people who had been to Italy.
The first case that tested positive with the virus was identified in Latin America, involving a Brazilian resident who returned from Italy.
Italy currently has more than 300 cases and 11 deaths. However, its neighboring countries approach closing borders as "disproportionate".
Health ministers from France, Italy, Germany, and the EU Commission decided to keep frontiers open at a meeting. This decision came as new cases of the virus have been recorded throughout Europe and in central and southern Italy.
"We're talking about a virus that doesn't respect borders," said Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza. Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn believes the neighbors were treating the situation "very, very seriously" but noted that "it could get worse before it gets better".
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that there were no plans to halt flights from Italy, which receives three million visitors from UK every year.
"If you look at Italy, they stopped all flights from China and they're now the worst-affected country in Europe," he said.
A young Italian couple who live in the state of Tyrol and have just returned from Italy were found positive with the virus. The couple's house was sealed off, and a lockdown on the hotel that one of the couple worked was imposed.
In Switzerland, a man in his seventies living in Ticino was confirmed with the virus in Milan on 15 February. A man in Croatia who returned from Italy turned out as the first confirmed patient in the Balkans.
Spain also identified its first case on the mainland, with a woman in Barcelona who had visited northern Italy. France and Germany recorded new cases through people who had been to northern Italy as well. Moreover, France reported the first death of a French national from the coronavirus.
