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Officials in the Austrian city of Salzburg said the 31-year-old woman had fled the Landeskliniken Salzburg hospital overnight. Hospital bosses raised the alarm this morning and informed police and local authorities of the escape. They said the woman was admitted to hospital yesterday with flu-like symptoms and was suspected of being infected with coronavirus.

The woman was admitted to the isolation ward of the university hospital for security reasons. City of Salzburg spokesman

Police later said they had located the woman at her home address in Salzburg and returned her to hospital using powers under Austria’s epidemic act and public order legislation. Officials are now trying to establish her whereabouts in the hours after she left the hospital and who she may have come into contact with. The woman, an Austrian national, had traveled to New Zealand via Taiwan and developed respiratory problems on the flight home.

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Once back in Salzburg she called a national health service hotline and after she described her symptoms an ambulance specially equipped for infections rushed her into hospital. The patient showed symptoms such as coughing. Her state of health was not classified as serious. She was being confined in isolation while samples were sent to Vienna for analysis. Doctors said they expected the results this afternoon. BREAKING NEWS: Coronavirus: Cruise ship detained in Hong Kong over coronavirus fears

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A Salzburg city spokesman said: “The woman was admitted to the isolation ward of the university hospital for security reasons. “It remains to be determined whether she has actually been infected with the virus. “For this purpose, a blood and urine sample was sent to a laboratory in Vienna and will be given priority treatment in consultation with the city's health department.” The patient showed symptoms such as coughing. Her state of health was not classified as serious. DON'T MISS

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The woman was being held in isolation at a Salzburg hospital