ADEJE, Spain — Hundreds of guests at a resort on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, were told Wednesday that they would be confined to their hotel for 14 days as the authorities tried to prevent the coronavirus from spreading after infections were discovered there this week.
News of a quarantine at the resort, the H10 Costa Adeje Palace, came as officials in Europe scrambled to contain an outbreak that has spread to at least seven nations on the Continent. Spain, of which the Canary Islands are a part, disclosed additional infections on Wednesday, and France reported its second death.
The Costa Adeje Palace, a four-star resort with a restaurant, pools and over 450 rooms, is one of at least two hotels to be locked down in Europe. Officials in Innsbruck, an Austrian ski town, sealed off a 108-room hotel after an employee tested positive for the virus.
In Adeje, officials said 723 people from 25 countries were staying at the Costa Adeje Palace. Guests wearing masks wandered near the pool and around the restaurant on Wednesday, with the hotel providing a supply of sparkling wine, videos posted to social media showed.
That guests were allowed to mingle and share common areas — “you can move around the hotel freely” one message to them said — raised concern among some that the conditions could allow the virus to spread.
“Why would you want to sit in a room full of people who could contaminate you?” Stephanie Hannay said in a video shared on Instagram, as she filmed the restaurant brimming with guests and staff.
Staff members have also been allowed to leave the grounds, as long as they did not show any symptoms, said Teresa Cruz, a regional health official.
The coronavirus was first discovered at the hotel on Monday, when an Italian doctor who had been on the island for a week fell ill with a fever and checked into a hospital. His partner tested positive on Tuesday, health officials said.
The couple were part of a group of 10 people traveling together, officials said, two of whom have also tested positive for coronavirus. Ms. Cruz said all four had been hospitalized and were “in good health.”
Health officials are now awaiting the results of tests given to all of the guests at the Costa Adeje Palace, she said. Eleven have presented some symptoms.
About 100 guests who arrived at the hotel after the initial cases were diagnosed were expected to receive a quicker clearance to leave.
Harriet Strandvik, a guest from Finland, said she was trying to get used to being confined for two weeks in the resort. There were some bright spots, she said, but also some reasons for worry.
“We enjoy the sun, books, play cards together, and are longing for our dog back home,” Ms. Strandvik wrote in a message. “It seems a bit disorganized here. Very little information.”
The European Union’s health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, said Wednesday that she has asked all member countries to send her details about their preparedness, including how they planned to trace people who had been in contact with someone infected.
“We have requested member states to review their pandemic plans as well as health care capabilities,” Ms. Kyriakides said in Rome on Wednesday, “including capacity for diagnosing, laboratory testing and procedures for contact tracing.”
The European push came as Spanish officials announced on Wednesday that one person each in Madrid, Catalonia, Seville and La Gomera, another of the Canary Islands, had tested positive for the virus, lifting the country’s total to 13.
Several of the patients — like the doctor and his partner at Costa Adeje Palace — had recently arrived from Italy, which has seen an eruption of more than 300 cases, the most in Europe. Italy’s Lombardy region has been hit especially hard by the outbreak. Cases that appear to be connected to Lombardy have also been reported in France, Austria, Croatia and Switzerland.
Still, Fernando Simón, the head of Spain’s emergency coordination center, said the country did not yet see a need for measures like border or airport checkpoints to control the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, there were two types of visitors in Adeje: those who remain sealed in their hotel because of the coronavirus and those staying elsewhere, free to wander around and wondering how those under lockdown were doing.
“How are they getting breakfast in there?” asked Katrien Van Gele, a visitor from Belgium.
Most people outside the Costa Adeje Palace said they were unconcerned about the outbreak but would avoid tourist-heavy areas of Tenerife.
“As long as those inside the hotel remain there for now, I think we’re safe,” said Bernd Drewitz, a visitor from Germany.
Others, like John, a visitor from Ireland who declined to give his surname, said he and his wife would shorten their vacation and fly back home on Friday instead of Sunday.
Inside the hotel, at least some guests’ spirits were flagging.
“People think we’re on extended holiday, when really it’s not that at all,” said Hannah Green, a British guest, on Instagram. “I can’t wait to leave.”
Elian Peltier reported from Tenerife, Spain, and Raphael Minder from Madrid. Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed reporting from Brussels.
