Spanish hotel in Tenerife locked down amid coronavirus outbreak

Hundreds of people have been confined to their rooms at a Tenerife hotel Tuesday after an Italian tourist was hospitalised with a suspected case of coronavirus.

The H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel on the south of the island is under quarantine and guests have been placed in isolation to halt any further spread of the disease.

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"We regret to inform you that for health reasons, the hotel has been closed down. You must remain in your rooms until the health authorities say so," the hotel said in a text message to its guests.

"Hundreds of hotel clients are being monitored for health reasons and the degree of supervision will be assessed during the day, but so far, we're not talking about quarantine," health authority spokeswoman Veronica Martin said.

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The police also has been reportedly "ensuring that none of the customers staying at the hotel left or entered the hotel".

The archipelago’s health authorities announced late on Monday that an Italian man had tested positive for coronavirus and was being kept in isolation while his results undergo a second analysis in Madrid as required by Spain's protocol for suspected cases of the disease.

The biggest outbreak in Europe has hit Italy, with more than 260 cases and seven deaths reported, most in the north of the country.

China reported 508 new cases and 71 news deaths on Tuesday in an outbreak of the novel virus that has spread to other parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Europe, infecting more than 80,000 globally.