First cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the WHO European Region, 24 January to 21 February 2020

2020/03/05 by Gianfranco Spiteri, James Fielding, Michaela Diercke +48 · 5 citations
Mathematics · Medicine · #COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies #COVID-19 epidemiological studies #SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research

paper · pdf · doi:10.2807/1560-7917.es.2020.25.9.2000178

openalex publication_date 2020/03/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

In the WHO European Region, COVID-19 surveillance was implemented 27 January 2020. We detail the first European cases. As at 21 February, nine European countries reported 47 cases. Among 38 cases studied, 21 were linked to two clusters in Germany and France, 14 were infected in China. Median case age was 42 years; 25 were male. Late detection of the clusters' index cases delayed isolation of further local cases. As at 5 March, there were 4,250 cases.

Citations

• Incubation period of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infections among travellers from Wuhan, China, 20–28 January 2020
• The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) — China, 2020

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