On Thursday night, the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in northern Germany, after individuals in Hamburg and Hesse tested positive for the virus. As 22 new cases were confirmed within a few short hours on Thursday in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate, by Friday the total number of new infections had risen to at least 37. 

First coronavirus cases in Hamburg and Hesse

On Thursday evening, the first coronavirus case was confirmed Hamburg, after an employee of the children’s medical department at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) had tested positive for the virus. Authorities in Hesse also reported the state’s first confirmed case. The patient is said to be an individual from the Lahn-Dill district. 

The patient in Hamburg, who lives in Schleswig-Holstein, had recently returned from a holiday in Trentino in Italy. This area is close to Lombardy, the epicentre of the country’s major coronavirus outbreak, but is not currently considered a risk zone. He, therefore, returned to work on Monday, before developing symptoms of the disease on Tuesday. 

All parents and children who had close contact with the man are now in quarantine for 14 days - either at home or at the UKE, depending on their state of health. Other employees at the facility are isolated at home. The infected man is said to be in a stable condition and quarantined. 

35 infections in North-Rhine Westphalia

In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, the total number of coronavirus cases has risen to 35. An estimated other 1.000 individuals - who may have had contact with the infected - are in quarantine in the Heinsberg district. With this, authorities are hoping to prevent the spread of the virus. 

According to the authorities, all known infected people are believed to have had contact with the couple from the village of Gangelt, who tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday after attending Carnival last week, and are currently being treated in hospital in Düsseldorf. 

One of the patients had stayed at Tropical Islands, an enormous indoor swimming pool in Brandenburg, over the weekend. 91 employees at the pool are currently being tested for the virus, but a spokesperson for the company said there was no danger to members of the public. The resort is open as normal. 

After a man in Düsseldorf who worked for the management consultancy Ernst & Young tested positive for the virus, 1.500 of his colleagues were told by management to remain at home until further notice. 

New cases in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate

Baden-Württemeberg also reported eight new infections, bringing the total number of cases there to 12. There is also a new case in Bavaria, involving a man from Middle Franconia. According to authorities, all of these cases can be traced back, either directly or indirectly, to contact persons who contracted the coronavirus in Italy. 

A case of coronavirus was also confirmed in Kaiserslautern in Rhineland-Palatinate. The man in question had recently returned from Iran, another country which is experiencing a major coronavirus outbreak. 

Number of cases expected to rise quickly

It is presumed that the number of infections in Germany will continue to rise fairly quickly: virologist Christian Drosten told German broadcaster ZDF on Thursday evening that, “We will see in the next few days that new cases and small groups of cases will spring up like mushrooms.” 

However, there is no major cause for alarm. While the virus can cause serious illness in some people, in around 80 percent of cases it leads to cold-like symptoms, according to the Robert Koch Institute.