First coronavirus case in North Cyprus not German tourist, but a Turkish Cypriot

It has been revealed that the first case of coronavirus in the TRNC was that of a 17-year-old boy who had been infected with the virus before the first recorded case which was thought to be a German tourist.

According to a report by the Near East University, the Turkish Cypriot boy had visited its hospital with symptoms of respiratory infection on March 11, 2020.

The university went back and tested 172 samples collected from patients with similar symptoms between September 1, 2019 and March 15, 2020 and found that the boy had been a carrier of Sars-Cov-2.

The first officially confirmed case recorded in the north was a 65-year-old German woman on March 10.

According to the university, “considering the two to 14-day incubation period of the virus, it is understood that the patient who was found to be positive was exposed to the virus before the German tourist group, which was announced as the first case.”

The teenager, who was admitted to the hospital with fever, cough, severe muscle and joint pain at that time, was the first case in the breakaway state, the university said.

“The diagnosis showing that the patient has a history of Covid-19 was once more confirmed through the antibody test dated February 1, 2021, which was carried out with the patient’s approval.”