Canary Islands: Lockdown ends in Tenerife hotel over coronavirus
The remaining guests at a hotel in Spain's Canary Islands on lockdown over the coronavirus were cleared Tuesday to leave the building after completing their 14-day quarantine period.
Hotel workers and medical staff cheered and applauded in the early hours of Tuesday as a policeman cut a plastic ribbon that was blocking access to Tenerife's H10 Costa Adeje Palace, images broadcast on Spanish television showed.
Some smiling guests removed their face masks and threw them up in the air as they left the four-star hotel while others posed for pictures in front of the entrances.
"As the 14-day quarantine period ended, they were allowed to leave. There is no longer anyone in quarantine at the hotel," a spokesman for the archipelago's health department said.
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There were 865 people from some 25 countries staying at the hotel when it was put on lockdown on February 25 after an Italian guest tested positive for the virus, he added.
But over the coming days many who did not show any symptoms were cleared to leave and as of Tuesday there were only about 200 people left in quarantine at the hotel, he said.
"They have been leaving throughout the day. We are operating normally again," a hotel spokesman said.
Seven people who were staying at the hotel tested positive for the novel coronavirus -- six Italians and a British national, according to the health department. Four remain in hospital.
Guests were allowed to mingle around the resort's pools and wander the common areas while the hotel was on lockdown but were not allowed to leave the establishment.
"It has been an experience; it is quite surreal," one British guest, Christopher Betts, told reporters as he left the hotel Tuesday.
Spain has reported over 1,200 cases of coronavirus with 28 deaths, making it one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe.
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Hotel workers and medical staff cheered and applauded in the early hours of Tuesday as a policeman cut a plastic ribbon that was blocking access to Tenerife's H10 Costa Adeje Palace, images broadcast on Spanish television showed.
Some smiling guests removed their face masks and threw them up in the air as they left the four-star hotel while others posed for pictures in front of the entrances.
"As the 14-day quarantine period ended, they were allowed to leave. There is no longer anyone in quarantine at the hotel," a spokesman for the archipelago's health department said.
READ LATEST:
- BREAKING: Spain suspends all flights from Italy over coronavirus
- School closures and working from home: What Spain is doing to contain the coronavirus
- Coronavirus in Spain: What's the latest and what do you need to know?
There were 865 people from some 25 countries staying at the hotel when it was put on lockdown on February 25 after an Italian guest tested positive for the virus, he added.
But over the coming days many who did not show any symptoms were cleared to leave and as of Tuesday there were only about 200 people left in quarantine at the hotel, he said.
"They have been leaving throughout the day. We are operating normally again," a hotel spokesman said.
Seven people who were staying at the hotel tested positive for the novel coronavirus -- six Italians and a British national, according to the health department. Four remain in hospital.
Guests were allowed to mingle around the resort's pools and wander the common areas while the hotel was on lockdown but were not allowed to leave the establishment.
"It has been an experience; it is quite surreal," one British guest, Christopher Betts, told reporters as he left the hotel Tuesday.
Spain has reported over 1,200 cases of coronavirus with 28 deaths, making it one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe.
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