MADRID, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Spain rose to 150 on Tuesday, its Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare confirmed.
Speaking at his daily briefing to the press, Fernando Simon, director of the Center of Coordination for Health Alerts and Emergencies at the Ministry of Health, repeated the message he gave 24 hours earlier, that for the moment the government was still not considering adopting extraordinary measures such as cancelling sporting events and festivals or closing schools.
Any decisions taken for the time being, he said, would be made by Spain's 17 autonomous communities, but added that "no decision will be made without an agreement at a national level."
One event that is likely to be affected, however, is the Champions League football match between Valencia and Atalanta in Valencia's Mestalla Stadium on March 10.
Several people, including a journalist, who attended the first leg of the tie in Milan a fortnight ago became infected by the coronavirus and Simon voiced his opposition to allowing an estimated 2,400 Atalanta fans to travel to Spain next week.
"There is no sense to it," he said, adding that "the Health Ministry, the government's Sports Committee and representatives of the Valencia region and the respective football federations would make a decision" on what should be done.
Simon also confirmed that medical staff have been infected by the coronavirus in four of Spain's regions --- Madrid, Andalusia in southern Spain, Cantabria and the Basque Region in the north.
Around 100 medical staff are currently in isolation in the Basque Region after three doctors tested positive for COVID-19 at Txangorritxu Hospital in the city of Vitoria where investigators were unable to discover the source of the infection.
Basque medical services have issued instructions for patients not to leave their room, while medical workers have been told to avoid public gatherings and remain at a distance of two meters from family members. Enditem
