Swiss authorities have decided to confine all soldiers to their military bases after one of them was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
As the Swiss Army is organised as a militia with conscripts undergoing a short initial training period, they have to take a refresher course every year.
On Monday, while one soldier was undergoing a required screening for such a course, he was diagnosed with the coronavirus. The man said that he had recently returned from Milan, Italy - the country most hit by the virus in Europe.
After the diagnosis, the army decided to restrict the movement of on-duty troops, while quarantining those who had come in close contact with the infected soldier.
The novel coronavirus has spread from China to more than 90 countries and already killed more than 3,100 people.
In Europe, Italy has become the hardest hit country, with 79 fatal cases having been recorded. Switzerland, which borders Italy in the south, has so far registered 35 cases of the virus with no fatal outcome.
