Eight new coronavirus cases in China have been traced to Italy — marking the first time the virus has been discovered spreading back to the country, after initially emerging there in December.

The cases involved Chinese nationals in Qingtian county who had traveled from the city of Bergamo in the Lombardy region in Italy’s north, news outlet Caixin Global reported.

The group had close contact with a previously disclosed case and worked together at a restaurant in the virus-plagued Italian town, officials said.

At least six of them took a flight from Milan to Shanghai then tested positive for the virus Monday after arriving in Qingtian, Reuters reported.

None of them had traveled to the center of the outbreak, Wuhan, where the disease broke out in live animal markets, officials said.

“We are trying to distance ourselves from the virus, but what cannot be broken is the flesh and blood relationships between overseas Chinese and their families in their hometowns,” said the government of Qingtian county said.

The virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to more than 70 countries worldwide but the vast majority of cases have been in mainland China. The country has reported more than 80,000 confirmed cases, mostly in the central province of Hubei — where Wuhan is located.

Meanwhile, Italy has seen its own outbreak with the number of infected people reaching nearly 1,700 people.