Anybody in close contact with Northern Ireland’s first Covid-19 patient has been contacted, health authorities north and south of the border said.

The woman travelled through Dublin Airport on her way home after flying with Aer Lingus from northern Italy with a child.

She was tested at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast but is being treated in isolation at home.

The health authorities would not confirm reports the woman had taken the train from Dublin to Belfast, citing patient confidentiality.

She had contacted a GP and taken steps to self-isolate, Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said.

Northern Ireland’s health minister Robin Swann said 93 tests for coronavirus have so far been completed, with one presumed to be positive.

He said: “I am reassured that the professionals we have in the health system are well-placed to cope with the eventuality that may come.”

Irish health chief Dr John Cuddihy said: “Each of the stages of this person’s journey have been identified and all relevant contacts in all of those stages of transport have been contacted (and) traced.”

People who sat within two rows of the woman on the plane from northern Italy to Dublin were contacted.

Ireland’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan and Dr Cuddihy, head of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said protocols similar to those used to respond to previous incidents of pandemic influenza – Sars and Mers – have been in place since January and are operating effectively.

Mr Swann said he believed the planning of the past four to five weeks had been effective.

The positive result has been sent to Public Health England laboratories for verification.

Aer Lingus said: “Aer Lingus can confirm that the patient in Northern Ireland who has been diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus travelled with the airline from northern Italy to Dublin.

“Aer Lingus is co-operating fully with the Health Service Executive in relation to the Covid-19 developments and is liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs, other government departments and the relevant authorities as required.”

On Friday, Ireland’s Health Minister met environmental health officers at Dublin Airport who are providing “useful and practical” information on coronavirus to people flying into the country.

Simon Harris urged people to get information from public health experts and repeated World Health Organisation warnings about misinformation online.

He said it was not his job to feed public curiosity about a patient’s journey.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: “If it’s necessary to give more information in a particular instance we are more than willing to do that, and we have done that for things like measles, but there was no need to do that in this instance.

“We want to reassure people again – if you have not been contacted by someone from public health in the last 12 to 15 hours, you can stop worrying.”

The new strain of coronavirus originated last year in Hubei province in China.

It produces flu-like symptoms.

China has seen thousands of infections and deaths.

It has spread to Italy, Germany and other European countries during a worldwide march also encompassing large parts of Asia and the Middle East.