The first confirmed coronavirus patient in Germany was infected by another person within the country, the health authorities of the regional state of Bavaria, where the patient is hospitalized, announced Tuesday.
According to AFP, this is the first case of contamination between humans on European soil, as the other patients reported in Europe having been infected during a stay in China.
The existence of this first confirmed German patient was first communicated on Monday evening, without further details. The 33-year-old man, who works for an automotive supplier in Bavaria, was infected in January by a colleague who had come from China for a few days for training, the health authorities said.
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The Chinese employee was in Germany from 19 to 22 January and on her return home "felt sick," said the director of the Bavarian Health Office, Dr. Andreas Zapf. Shortly afterwards she was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
For the time being no further cases have been reported, but authorities are checking on a total of 40 people who have been in contact with the two infected company employees, either within the company or within the family of the German patient.
The epidemic has now claimed more than 100 lives in China, with more than 4,500 people infected in total.
The health of the German patient remains 'good', at this point, Zapf said.
The Brussels Times
