Lithuania confirms first case of coronavirus

Lithuania confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus in a woman who returned from Italy, the government said on Friday.

The 39-year-old, who returned from Verona on Monday and immediately went on sick leave, has been isolated in hospital in the Baltic state's northern city of Siauliai and has mild symptoms. Her family members are being monitored.

"We are putting all efforts to establish all people who contacted the infected person so that we can adopt preventive measures and (stop) the spread of the virus," Deputy Health Minister Algirdas Seselgis said in a statement.

The government also decided to deploy troops at airports to help take down the contact info of people arriving from infected regions. Health experts are also on duty for consultations and, if needed, medical check-ups.

More than 83,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 2,800 have died, mostly in China, where the virus originated late last year.

© 2020 AFP