Croatia Confirms Coronavirus Case as Balkan States Boost Precautions

Croatian officials announced on Tuesday that a man who recently returned from Milan in Italy has become the first confirmed coronavirus case in the country.

"Today at 11.50 we got test results for a Croat who was staying in Milan. He shows milder signs of the illness," Health Minister Vili Beros told a press conference.

"It is a disease that is similar to the flu and no bigger complications are expected than in the case of the flu," Beros said.

"The health system is ready," he added.

Meanwhile nine Croatians who were working at a factory in Italy where 20 people were infected were admitted to hospital in the city of Rijeka overnight and placed in precautionary isolation because they might have been exposed to the virus.

PVRH @AndrejPlenkovic: Rezultati testova su pokazali da imamo prvog pacijenta s #coronavirus, a nalazi se pod nadzorom u Zagrebu, u Klinici za infektivne bolesti "Dr. Fran Mihaljević". Radi se o mlađem čovjeku koji ima blage simptome, izoliran je i njegovo je stanje stabilno. pic.twitter.com/BQV0yz7m9R

— Vlada Republike Hrvatske (@VladaRH) February 25, 2020

There are no other confirmed coronavirus cases in any other Balkan country so far, but proximity to Italy, where there has been a major outbreak, has caused concerns.

Outside the region, two Serbian citizens on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been in quarantine in Yokohoma in Japan since February 3, have been confirmed as infected.

The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that both the infected Serbs, aged 29 and 30, are crew members on the cruise ship.

There are nine more Serbian citizens on the Diamond Princess, while three others left the ship last week after their test results came...