Thirty-six Italians who were repatriated on from the Chinese city of Wuhan - epicentre of the current coronavirus outbreak - and quarantined at Rome's Cecchignola military zone on 3 February were allowed to leave on Friday, officials said.
A total 56 Italians repatriated from Wuhan were quarantined at Cecchignola. One of the Italians tested positive for the deadly virus earlier this month and is still being treated at Rome's Spallanzani hospital while a further 19 were released late on Thursday after meeting health minister Roberto Speranza.
A further 30 Italians are being repatriated from the corona-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess aboard an Italian military plane (along with 27 other Europeans) and are due to be quarantined at Cecchignola when they arrive in Rome on Saturday.
Five other Italians, the ship's Italian crew and captain have stayed on board the vessel, which has been quarantined in the Japanese port of Yokohama since early February.
Meanwhile, two Italian men and an Italian woman have tested positive for the coronavirus in the northern city of Codogno - the first people to be infected with the disease in Italy. They are a 38-year-old man who reportedly had dinner with a friend who had returned from China, the man's wife and another man he had contact with.
The latest figures from China put the death toll from the disease at 2,236 people and total infections at more than 75,000 since mid-December. The virus has also spread around the world with more than 1,000 cases and several deaths in the rest of Asia, in Europe, the US and Africa.
