Tasmanian student, who traveled to Nepal, tested positive for coronavirus: Report

A Tasmanian student in his 20s, who reached Tasmania on Feb 26 after travelling to Nepal, transiting through Singapore and Sydney to Hobart, has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a report.

A student at Australian Ideal College, he had attended the college twice briefly and also worked causal shifts at Grand Chancellor Hotel in the past week, reported 7news.com.au.

According to health authorities, he experienced initial cold-like symptoms and Feb 27 but did not contact the health hotline until March 6.

He was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital of Friday and was tested positive on Saturday.

He has been placed in isolation, the report stated.

Health authorities are now working with the hotel to identify any co-workers or members of the public who may qualify as ‘close contacts’.

A close contact is someone who spends at least 15 minutes in close face-to-face contact with a positive case or is with them in an enclosed room for more than 2 hours.

The authorities are preparing to quarantine those that fall under this definition for 14 days.

This is the second confirmed case of coronavirus in Tasmania. Last week, a 40-year-old man, who had arrived from Iran, had tested positive in Launceston.

The global virus has killed more than 3,500 people and infected over 1,00,000 worldwide since it was first detected in Wuhan, China.

According to Associated Press, as of Saturday, nearly 90,000 cases have been reported in Asia; more than 8,000 in Europe; 6,000 in the Mideast; about 450 in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and fewer than 50 cases reported so far in Africa.

Nepal has only one confirmed case.