STA, 5 March 2020 - A second case of novel coronavirus infection in Slovenia was confirmed Thursday, Health Minister Aleš Šabeder said, with the person having been in contact with the first patient, who had been detected on Wednesday.
Šabeder said as the health authorities called a press conference to speak about the first case that they had just been informed about a second case, adding that the second patient had been in contact with the first one.
The authorities are rushing to identify other persons who have been in contact with the man who was confirmed as the first COVID-19 case in Slovenia yesterday.
The Ljubljana physician who attended to the patient and sent him in an ambulance vehicle to the UKC Ljubljana hospital to be quarantined in a separate ward, has already been isolated.
The first infected person, identified only as a man aged about 60, had come to Slovenia from Morocco via Italy on a commercial flight on 29 February.
The National Public Health Institute (NIJZ) called on other Slovenian citizens who were on the AT938 Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca to the Marco Polo airport in Venice to be careful about signs of infection.
Nina Pirnat of the NIJZ said that the first patient had already had symptoms when he had arrived in Venice, which he had attributed to a recent injury in Morocco.
The man had used a shuttle van to come from Venice to Ljubljana and all persons who travelled with him in the aircraft and the shuttle van will be instructed to see an epidemiologist and get further instructions.
The shuttle operator GoOpti told the STA that a few other persons had travelled with the man, adding that the driver had already been tested and isolated. GoOpti director Marko Guček said that the driver was feeling well and had no signs of infection.
On the evening of the arrival to Slovenia, the first patient visited the Ljubljana emergency ward over the injury, and was then sent home, Pirnat said, adding that he had been in contact with many persons since.
Health Ministry State Secretary Simona Repar Bornšek added that, feeling unwell, the man had visited the community health centre in the south-western Ljubljana borough of Vič. He came unannounced, ignoring all protocols and instructions, she added.
According to Šabeder, a list of persons in contact with the man was being compiled. High-risk persons have had swab samples taken, with the results to be announced in the afternoon.
Pirnat said that the infection was transferred by close contact and that the probability that the persons at the emergency ward and the passengers had gotten infected was small.
Nevertheless, the health authorities are trying to identify as many persons as possible who have been in contact with or in the close proximity of the first patient.
Doctors rushing to identify people who came into contact with the first coronavirus patient
STA, 5 March 2020 - Slovenian health authorities are rushing to identify persons who have been in contact with the man who was confirmed as the first COVID-19 case in Slovenia on Wednesday. The Ljubljana physician who attended to the patient has already been isolated.
Health Minister Aleš Šabeder said a list of persons in contact with the man was being compiled. High-risk persons have had swab samples taken, with the results still pending.
The infected person, identified only as a man aged about 60, had recently come to Slovenia from Morocco via Italy.
It is clear that he flew from Morocco to Italy, but his subsequent travel arrangements have not been disclosed due to protection of sensitive personal information.
It therefore remains unclear whether he travelled alone or in a group.
The patient ignored instructions issued in recent weeks. Instead of calling his doctor first, he went to a community health centre in Ljubljana, where the doctor determined he had clear signs of COVID-19 infection.
The man was then transported by ambulance to the epidemiology ward of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, where he has been quarantined in a separate ward reserved for COVID-19 cases.
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