The first case in the country was confirmed by Spain’s National Center for Microbiology and announced by the Health Ministry late on Friday, with one man diagnosed on La Gomera, a remote island in the Canaries. The patient was among five people brought to the island for observation after coming into contact with a German man diagnosed with the virus .

The confirmation comes as officials in China’s Hubei province – the epicenter of the outbreak – reported ۴۵ new deaths from the illness, bringing the total to ۲۴۹, with some ۱۰,۰۰۰ infected and over ۱,۵۰۰ in critical condition in China.