CORONAVIRUS cases in the Valencian Community have jumped to eight following the region’s first outbreak, largely due to travellers from Italy.

Six new patients were confirmed to have the covid-19 virus on Thursday afternoon, according to the Valencian health councillor Ana Barceló.

Two men are now in Valencia’s Hospital General after catching coronavirus from the 44-year-old sports journalist, Kike Mateu, who fell ill after covering Valencia CF in Milan. Neither of them had travelled to Italy.

Two more men are now in Valencia’s Hospital Clínico after travelling with Mateu to the Atalanta-Valencia CF match last week.

A woman is also in isolation in Sagunto Hospital after she returned from a holiday in Milan.

The final new patient, an Italian student, is at the Doctor Pesset de Valencia hospital after testing positive to the virus. He is reportedly studying in Turia, but had recently travelled to a high-risk area in the north of the country.

The patients add to the first case, confirmed on Wednesday, of a Castellón man who travelled to Milan for a stag do.

No cases have yet been confirmed in the province of Alicante.

Barceló added that all cases are low-risk, and that patients may be placed in isolation at their own homes while they recover.

It comes as statistics have revealed a significantly lower death rate for coronavirus patients under 50 and with no medical history.