Police officer and trainee firefighter test positive for Coronavirus.

The news was announced by the Lazio Region health councillor Alessio D'Amato who confirmed the "epidemiological link with the Lombardy region" in the case.

The 50-year-old man's wife, two children and a sister-in-law have also tested positive but are being monitored at home by health authorities.

The policeman has been absent from work since 25 February due to flu symptoms following a visit by a friend from one of the Coronavirus-hit areas of Lombardy.

The case has led to the closure of the Pascal high school in the town of Pomezia, south of Rome, where the policeman's son is one of the 1,200 students. The computer science department at Rome's La Sapienza University - where the police officer's other son is studying - has also been closed.

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The Rome hospital is now treating a total of seven Coronavirus cases, including the Chinese couple who were the first cases of Coronavirus on Italian soil and are currently making a good recovery.

The other three cases are from the same family from the coastal town of Fiumicino near Rome who were hospitalised over the weekend after becoming infected following a visit to northern Italy.

Photo RomaToday