NICOSIA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has canceled a state visit to Austria due to the spread of the COVID-19 to the eastern Mediterranean island, Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported on Tuesday.
Anastasiades had planned to leave in the afternoon for Vienna and have talks on Wednesday with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
"The cancellation of the trip is related to developments in the spread of the coronavirus," the report said.
State radio has earlier reported that Anastasiades would discuss with the Austrian officials the situation at the Greek-Turkish border along the Evros river and the increased influx of migrants into Cyprus.
Cyprus on Monday confirmed its first two cases of the novel coronavirus, according to the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, a 65-year-old woman from Germany tested positive on Monday night in the Turkish-controlled area of Cyprus, the medical authorities said on Tuesday.
She arrived with a group of 30 tourists and stayed in a hotel near the eastern city of Famagusta. The hotel was under quarantine with all guests and staff staying inside.
The authorities said the woman was isolated in a hospital and responding well to treatment.
Cypriot Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the Nicosia General Hospital, one of the medical facilities reserved for the treatment of positive cases, suspended most services on Tuesday, after a medical doctor in charge of the heart surgical ward tested positive for coronavirus.
The doctor had returned from Britain on March 3 and informed authorities of developing COVID-19 symptoms on Sunday.
The Health Ministry announced that all admissions, outpatient clinics, surgeries and visits at Nicosia General Hospital were suspended for 48 hours since early Tuesday, when the situation would be reviewed.
The areas where the doctor operated and worked in are all sanitized, and anyone in close contact with him has been called for test.
Operation of the cardio surgery ward had also been suspended and patients would be gradually discharged or sent to private clinics, depending on their general health condition, the ministry said.
Ioannou said the other case concerned a 25-year-old man who traveled to Milan. He returned on Feb. 26 and had been quarantined since then after being screened upon arrival at Larnaca airport.
The Health Ministry issued new travel regulations stating that those who arrive from countries and regions hardest hit by the virus must stay under medical observation for 14 days in a government-assigned medical area.
Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou said on Tuesday there were no plans to close schools after the coronavirus cases were confirmed, but adding that his ministry is following closely the advice from the Health Ministry.
