Denmark, Romania and Norway have now joined the growing list of countries reporting cases of infection with the new coronavirus, as various reports of the outbreak continue to crop in many European countries.
Denmark
Denmark announced on Thursday its first case of the new coronavirus infection: a man returning from Northern Italy, whose condition is described as "good".
“The man, who returned on Monday 24 February from a skiing holiday in Lombardy with his wife and son, suffered since from coughing and fever (…); the man was tested positive, but the test results for his wife and son are negative,” the Public Health Agency announced in a statement.
His condition is rather good, he has returned home, where he is confined with his family. They are in daily contact with the Roskilde Hospital in East Copenhagen. According to the TV2 public television, the man is one of its employees.
The country’s health authorities, who do not currently plan to screen travellers who enter Denmark, said on Tuesday that “the probability of cases coming into Denmark has increased (…), but the risk of infection (must) always be considered as low.”
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People returning from China, parts of Italy (Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto), Iran, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, who show symptoms of the virus are asked to contact their health centre which will direct them to a service that can assist and test them.
Six hospitals in this country of 5.8 million people were identified by health authorities as a potential host for people infected with the virus.
The Danish shipping giant Maersk said that any employee returning from Northern Italy (Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto) and South Korea must work from home for two weeks after returning to minimize the risk of contagion. A similar rule has been applied since 28 January for people returning from China, the company said in an email to AFP. Nonessential business travel to this country was cancelled.
Romania
Romanian Minister of Health Victor Costache has confirmed the first case of the coronavirus infection in the country, according to local media.
The first case was announced on Wednesday, who had been in contact with an Italian who recently stayed in Romania.
The patient was admitted to a hospital in Bucharest, according to local TV. The Italian in question had visited Romania in February before being tested positive for Covid-19 once back in Italy.
Norway
A Norwegian woman has also tested positive for the virus in her country, but without showing any symptoms, the Norwegian health institute said. According to local media reports, the patient is from Tromso in the north of the country.
The Brussels Times
