Coronavirus: only one case confirmed

News Staff Reporter

SO FAR only one case of Coronavirus has been confirmed in Spain. The patient, a German tourist on the Canary Island of Gomera, shows no symptoms but has tested positive for the virus and remains in isolation at a local hospital.

The other members of his group were discharged on Wednesday after they all tested negative and followed several days in isolation.

Meanwhile, all Spanish nationals flown in from virus epicentre Wuhan (China) last week and isolated in a special ward at a military hospital in Madrid as a precaution, have all tested negative for coronavirus. They will remain in isolation until the 14-day quarantine has expired.

Barcelona congress: no hand-shaking and LG pulls out

LG has become the first major technology company to pull out of forthcoming technology event Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona over concerns about the coronavirus outbreak.

The technology convention is due to take place at the end of this month and is one of the largest events in the industry calendar.

Korean firm LG said it would instead hold separate events in the near future to announce its latest gadgets.

"LG Electronics is closely monitoring the situation related to the novel coronavirus outbreak, which was recently declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation, as the virus continues to spread outside China," the company said in a statement.

"With the safety of its employees, partners and customers foremost in mind, LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020 later this month in Barcelona, Spain.

A number of other technology heavyweights, including Sony, Samsung, Huawei and Microsoft are due to appear at MWC.

Chinese manufacturer ZTE initially said it would not be sending delegates to the MWC, but later confirmed it would.

MWC organiser GSMA agency said it was monitoring the outbreak and would put additional medical precautions in place around its venues such as increased cleaning and disinfection of conference and other areas, and would add extra signage around its venues to remind visitors of preventative measures. They are also advising attendees to adopt a "no handshake policy" during the event.

The annual convention is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors from over 100 countries.