Brussels.
An official of the European Defense Agency (ADE) is the first confirmed case of infection by the new coronavirus in European institutions based in Brussels, this European Union agency revealed this Wednesday.
The official in question, who becomes the 25th positive case for Covid-19 counted in Belgium, returned from Italy on February 23 last, after stints in Milan and Cortina, started to show mild symptoms last Saturday and, after the tests have been positive, he is currently self-isolating at home, ADE said in a statement released today.
EDA, which confirmed an advance report on the Euractiv website, indicates that it personally informed “the few employees who have been in close contact with the colleague” who remain isolated for 14 days, as a precautionary measure.
Following this case, the agency decided to cancel all meetings scheduled for its facilities by March 13, as well as all travel by employees to external meetings by the same date.
The European Defense Agency was created in 2004 and its mission is to help its 26 members (all EU countries except Denmark) to develop their military resources.
Headquartered in Brussels, ADE has about 140 staff and is chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell.
The Covid-19 outbreak, detected in December in China, and which can cause respiratory infections such as pneumonia, caused about 3,200 deaths and infected more than 93,000 people in 78 countries, including five in Portugal.
Of the infected people, about 50,000 recovered.
In addition to 2,983 dead in China, there are fatalities in Iran, Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Thailand, the United States and the Philippines.
A Portuguese crew member of a cruise ship is hospitalized in Japan with confirmation of infection.
In Portugal, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) confirmed five cases of infection, four of which in Porto and one in Lisbon.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak as an international public health emergency and increased the risk to “very high”.
