Ten cases of the Chinese coronavirus were confirmed Tuesday by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) among recently arrived “refugees and asylum seekers” in Germany.
Acccording to a report by the Reuters newsagency, UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told a press briefing about the newly diagnosed cases who had entered the country through Europe’s remaining open borders.
“As of this morning, we understand there are 10 confirmed cases in Germany,” Mahecic said. “These are people who are either refugees or asylum seekers,” he added. The cases are in Munich, Berlin and Heidelberg.
All national authorities have been urged by the agency to treat refugees and asylum seekers who fall sick with the virus the same way as other nationals.
German police face demonstrators holding up pictures of refugees as they demonstrate against Europe’s migration policy and the handling of refugees at the Greek border on March 9, 2020 opposite the venue of a German-Hellenic Economic Forum in Berlin. ( JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
The news of the fresh cases in Germany comes barely 24-hours after Germany closed its borders with five neighbouring countries in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus, as Breitbart News reported.
At 8 am on Monday, Germany shuttered borders with Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, France and Denmark, allowing only commuters and delivery trucks to enter the country.
The move reverses the policy of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had said as recently as last week the borders would remain open.
Last week, Merkel also warned by the end of the outbreak in Germany, between sixty and seventy per cent of the country could become infected with the coronavirus, however, at the time refused to close down the borders.