Two new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Lithuania on Tuesday night, bringing the total number of coronavirus patients in the country to three.

Nine samples were tested on Tuesday night, the government’s coronavirus communication group has reported.

The two new cases are 35 and 40-year-old spouses from Kaunas, Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga confirmed on Wednesday.

The pair returned by car from a skiing trip in northern Italy that lasted from February 29 to March 6. They succumbed to fever after returning home, according to the minister.

The couple is being treated at Kaunas Clinical Hospital and exhibit mild symptoms.

“The patients' health condition is satisfactory, the symptoms are not severe or complicated, they do not require special treatment. Observation and isolation,” Veryga said.

Two more people who have been in contact with the pair have self-isolated at home, according to the minister.

Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga / D. Umbrasas/LRT

General in quarantine

The Ministry of National Defence also announced on Wednesday that a General Raimundas Vaikšnoras was quarantined in a Vilnius hospital after returning from a trip to Germany.

He and two officers who accompanied him in the trip will be isolated until Covid-19 test results come in, the ministry said.

The measures were taken after reports about two military officers testing positive for the coronavirus after returning from a military conference in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Lithuania’s first coronavirus patient was diagnosed with the Covid-19 on February 28. A woman tested positive after returning from Verona in norther Italy. She has been treated in a hospital in Šiauliai, northern Lithuania.

The patient exhibits mild symptoms, according to reports, and still had the coronavirus after more than a week of treatment, a repeated test showed on Monday.

In all, 290 samples have been tested for Covid-19 in Lithuania as of Wednesday morning, according to the Ministry of Health. More than 5,500 people have been under observation after travelling to coronavirus-affected countries.

Globally, over 118,000 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and over 4,000 have died.

The National Public Health Laboratory tested six samples for the coronavirus over Sunday / BNS

Recommendations against travelling to Spain, France, Germany

On Tuesday, Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued recommendations against travelling to Spain, France and Germany.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has updated its travel recommendations regarding Spain, France and Germany. As the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly, we recommend cancelling unnecessary trips to these countries,” the ministry said.

If travelling is absolutely necessary, people are advised to take necessary precautions and follow the recommendations and instructions of local institutions.

The ministry also noted that Italy's government had on Tuesday placed all the country under quarantine over the coronavirus outbreak, with the special measures to last until April 3.

Moreover, the ministry said, Israeli institutions have ordered all incoming foreign citizens to be allowed to enter the country only if they have the possibility to spend 14 days in home quarantine.

“Foreigners have no possibility to self-isolate in any accommodation establishment,” the ministry said.