"Positive news that must make all Italian health workers proud"

The Chinese husband and wife who were the first people in Italy to test positive for Coronavirus have been discharged from Rome's Spallanzani hospital, when they have been treated since 30 January.

The pair from Wuhan were discharged "permanently" from the Spallanzani today and were transferred to Rome's S. Filippo Neri hospital where the woman will complete neuromotor rehabilitation.

The news was announced by Spallanzani health director Francesco Vaia, who said: "It is positive news that must make all Italian healthcare workers proud."

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The Chinese husband and wife, aged 66 and 67 respectively, were hospitalised after falling sick at a hotel in central Rome on 30 January.

Their case led Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte to suspend all flights to and from China later that day.

It wasn't until 20 February that the Coronavirus outbreak began in northern Italy, when a 38-year-old Italian man tested positive in town of Codogno near Lodi. The man, known as Paziente 1, was recently moved out of intensive care, as soon as he was able to breathe unassisted, and he is recovering at S. Matteo di Pavia hospital.

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On 18 March, a month after the case of Patient 1 came to light, Italy recorded the highest one-day death toll of any country affected by the Covid-19 pandemic: 475 deaths, taking Italy's total number of fatalities to almost 3,000.

A total of 4,025 people in Italy have recovered from Coronavirus, according to the latest statistics released late on 18 March by the country's civil protection authorities.

The vast majority of cases and deaths have been recorded in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, the area worst affected by the outbreak.

Photo La Repubblica