Coronavirus death toll in Netherlands rises to 3
A medical team member checks an accredited person's body temperature and checks for possible symptoms of the coronavirus prior to the final of World Cup speedskating at the Thialf ice arena in Heerenveen, northern Netherlands, Saturday, March 7, 2020. (AP Photo)


Two more people infected with the coronavirus in the Netherlands have died, taking the total number of fatalities to three, Dutch health officials said Sunday.

The National Institute for Public Health said the deceased were two men, aged 82 and 86, who had been in hospital and who already had medical problems before they were infected with the coronavirus.

The Netherlands registered its first fatal case, an 86-year-old man who died in a hospital in Rotterdam Friday.

The total number of infections in the Netherlands increased to 265 on Sunday, from 188 a day earlier. The health authorities said 131 of these patients had recently been to Italy, the country at the heart of Europe's largest coronavirus outbreak.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry on Sunday advised people to cancel all trips to regions in northern Italy, which, since Sunday, have been virtually sealed off by the Italian government. The ministry also advised Dutch people traveling in these regions to leave.