Coronavirus: 38-year-old woman had returned to Rome from northern Italy.

The Lazio region has registered its first case of Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, after a woman living in Fiumicino - a coastal town beside Rome's main airport - tested positive for the virus, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

The 38-year-old mother of two recently returned to the capital after spending a few days in Bergamo, near Milan in Lombardy, the region worst affected by Italy's Coronavirus outbreak.

The woman is being treated at Rome's Spallanzani hospital, a specialist centre for treating infectious diseases.

Her children - aged 5 and 10 - are also being kept under surveillance at the Rome hospital, according to reports in Italian media.

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The Lazio Region president Nicola Zingaretti announced that "all the procedures provided for by the scientific protocols have been activated", with a meeting scheduled in Rome today between the mayor of Fiumicino, the Spallanzani doctors and the regional health councillor, to take stock of the evolving situation.

Until now there have been three cases of Coronavirus in Rome, all from outside the Lazio region: the three include the Chinese couple from Wuhan and an Italian who was flown back from Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly virus. The Chinese couple, a husband and wife in their 60s, continue to make a good recovery, while the Italian has already been discharged.

In addition there is the case of the 17-year-old Italian student Niccolò, who was airlifted from China before being treated successfully at the Spallanzani. Niccolò is being discharged today after making a full recovery.

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Precautions

Lazio health authorities have begun installing pre-triage tents outside hospitals in Rome and around the region, in recent days, in preparation for a scenario "that we do not wish for but one which we are ready to face", according to regional health councillor Alessio D'Amato.

Last night the Lazio Region issued the following guidelines:

• Wash your hands often. Hand washing and disinfection are decisive for preventing infection.
• Avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands.
• Cover your mouth and nose if you sneeze or cough.
• Do not take antiviral drugs or antibiotics unless prescribed by your doctor.
• Clean the surfaces with chlorine or alcohol-based disinfectants.
• Use the mask only if you suspect you are ill or assist sick people.
• Made in China products and parcels received from China are not dangerous.
• Call the numbers available, do not go unnecessarily to the emergency room. If you have a fever, cough, muscle pain and have been in an area affected by the outbreak, or have come into contact with people from those areas, consult your general practitioner on the phone or call the toll-free number 1500 of the Ministry of Health to have information on what to do. If you have the 06 area code, you can also call 112. For all the other prefixes in Lazio, call the toll-free number 800 118 800
• Pets do not spread the Coronavirus.

US travel advice

Washington has issued a "Level 3" warning for Italy, due to the Coronavirus, advising US citizens to avoid "non-essential" travel to Italy.

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Number of cases

There are currently 822 cases of Coronavirus, or COVID-19, in Italy. These are mainly in the north, particularly in the Lombardy region, but there is a growing number of isolated cases around the country.

However Italy's Coronavirus emergency commissioner Angelo Borrelli stressed that about half of these cases involve light symptoms, with patients convalescing at home rather than in hopistal.