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Where is the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife and how many are affected by the coronavirus outbreak?

Spanish police officers stand outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife: AP
Spanish police officers stand outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife: AP

The H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in Tenerife has been locked down after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for coronavirus.

Security forces were reportedly stopping hundreds of guests leaving the four-star hotel on Tuesday.

It is understood that the doctor is from the Lombardy region, where Italian authorities are battling an outbreak.

Meanwhile, global cases of the virus have passed 80,000, the vast majority in China.

An employee wears a protective mask as he talks on the phone inside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje (via REUTERS)
An employee wears a protective mask as he talks on the phone inside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje (via REUTERS)

Here's what we know about the situation in Tenerife so far:

Where is the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in Tenerife?

The H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel is located right next to the El Duque Beach, just south of the town Adeje.

The town is in the south west of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain.

The four-star hotel, a branch part of the H10 hotel chain, has 167 rooms.

How many people are quarantined?

Spanish media reported that up to 1,000 guests were being quarantined in the hotel and that authorities were carrying out tests in Adeje.

British holidaymakers have spoken about being trapped inside the hotel as Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged millions of people to join the battle to stop the infection becoming “big” in the UK.

One guest posted an image on Facebook of a note put under the door of their room saying: “We regret to inform you that for health reasons, the hotel has been closed down.

"Until the sanitary authorities warn, you must remain in your rooms.”

A Spanish police officer sets a barrier blocking the access to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife (AP)
A Spanish police officer sets a barrier blocking the access to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife (AP)

Another guest, Christopher Betts, told Reuters: “We can see from the window there are security officers outside the hotel and about 50 hotel employees.”

Some guests had been put up at the hotel by tour operators after becoming stranded by a sandstorm which enveloped the island earlier this week.

The infected doctor is reportedly from Lombardy in northern Italy, where nearly a dozen towns are in quarantine.

Employees wearing protective masks arrange water bottles in the lobby of a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje. (via REUTERS)
Employees wearing protective masks arrange water bottles in the lobby of a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje. (via REUTERS)

Seven people have died in Italy and more than 200 cases have been confirmed.

The medic is understood to have been transferred to an isolation unit at the University Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, in the port of Santa Cruz on the island, and is due to have a second test.

What is the latest coronavirus advice from Health Secretary Matt Hancock?

Mr Hancock has issued an urgent appeal for the public to follow new self-isolation advice if returning from northern Italy, and engage in an unprecedented campaign of hand-washing.

This appeal extends to those coming back from parts of South Korea and Iran.

He said: “Every single person can do something to try to help this country avoid this virus becoming big and that is to wash your hands. If you sneeze to make sure you cover it up, catch it, kill it and bin it."

He dismissed calls for a ban on flights from countries hardest hit by Covid-19, describing such restrictions as a “Maginot Line”, referring to the huge French fortifications which failed to stop the German Second World War invasion.

Health chiefs were preparing to distribute thousands of home test kits for the virus if the number of cases spirals to avoid the infection being passed on in hospitals.

Read more

British tourists tell of being trapped in virus-hit Tenerife hotel