Three people in Lithuania have been diagnosed with the coronavirus on Friday, the Ministry of Health has announced. A Spanish national and two Lithuanians have reportedly been exposed to the virus abroad.

All the three cases are of the disease contracted abroad, Minister of Health Aurelijus Veryga has told reporters on Friday.

Read more: Coronavirus measures in Lithuania: what you need to know

“That means we are not moving into another phase where the virus is spreading inside our population,” he said.

One of the cases concerns a Spanish national, a woman from Madrid, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 in Vilnius, the minister said.

The other two are Lithuanians. A woman in Klaipėda tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from Tenerife in the Canary Islands. A man in Kaunas has been diagnosed with the disease following a skiing trip to Italy.

“None of the cases are difficult, their condition is not dangerous, none of the people are elderly or in the risk group,” Veryga said.

Aurelijus Veryga / J. Stacevičius/LRT

Husband in self-isolation

In a separate press event, the chief doctor of Klaipėda University Hospital told reporters that the woman diagnosed with Covid-19 in Klaipėda had returned from Tenerife with her husband.

The woman was admitted to the hospital on Thursday, while her husband has self-isolated, Vinsas Janušonis said.

“She was brought in yesterday, in satisfactory health condition, with a cold and slight fever,” Janušonis, the chief doctor, said. “She was tested and we recently got the results that the woman has it [the coronavirus.”

The woman returned on a flight via Barcelona to Palanga Airport. She has not had any physical contact with other people, Janušonis said.

Meanwhile the patient in Kaunas, a 27-year-old man, was in contact with his sister after falling ill, said Albinas Naudžiūnas, the head of Kaunas Clinical Hospital.

Albinas Naudžiūnas / BNS

The man returned to Lithuania by plane on February 29 and went into self-isolation, but stayed in one flat with the sister.

“The sister also has fever. As far as I know, she is being tested for the virus as well,” Naudžiūnas told a press conference.

He added, that the man flew back with six other people who also went into self-isolation.

Lithuania has previously reported three confirmed cases of Covid-19. A woman in Šiauliai was diagnosed on February 28 and a couple from Kaunas tested positive on Tuesday, March 10.

Read more: 2 new coronavirus cases confirmed in Lithuania

All three had travelled to northern Italy.

Aurelijus Veryga / J. Stacevičius/LRT

Nation-wide quarantine considered

Veryga has also indicated that the government is planning to decide on putting the country under quarantine next week. The measure would allow to prosecute people who fail to observe self-isolation rules, he said.

A quarantine would also allow introducing tougher border controls, but it would not mean a total ban on foreign trips, according to Veryga.

Read more: Closing borders a possibility, Lithuanian president says

The government has announced a free coronavirus hotline, 1808, where people can report suspected coronavirus symptoms and get advice.