NICOSIA – The first two suspected cases of the coronavirus on the island led Cyprus to put an army camp on quarantine after a soldier who had been in the Greek city of Patra, a region with the most cases in that country, showed symptoms on his return.

That came, said The Cyprus Mail, after results were pending from a 20-year-old who was not identified and who had been taken to a police station in the capital of Nicosia and after the government had already moved to set up other quarantine facilities if the virus hit.

According to reports, the Elias Papakyriakou army camp in Athalassa was kept isolated after the soldier showed symptoms. He was taken to Nicosia General Hospital for treatment and kept apart from other patients.

Soldiers at the army camp are not allowed to leave until the results are ready, which is expected to be March 9, and soldiers who were due to return to the camp were also not allowed to go back until then.

In the other case, the man arrested was taken to the Omorfita police station in Nicosia the night of March 7 and began showing symptoms as well before being taken to Limassol General Hospital in the southern part of the island.

Police officers in contact with him as well as others that are trying to be traced were told to self-quarantine themselves until hearing of the test results while the station was temporarily closed before disinfection.