Dutch health officials have dropped their investigation into the movements of a German coronavirus victim in Limburg, because he was not infectious while he was in the Netherlands.

The man, from Selfkant, just over the Dutch border at Sittard, was recently diagnosed with coronavirus and had been in Limburg earlier this month, prompting officials to attempt to trace his movements.

But the Dutch public health board RIVM said on Wednesday morning that the research is unnecessary because he was not infectious or ill during his visit.

The man, 47, was taken ill with a lung infection and is now seriously ill in an isolation ward at a hospital in Dusseldorf.

According to local German media, he may have picked up the virus via a business colleague who had been in China. The man’s wife is also said to be suffering from coronavirus symptoms.

Brabant

The RIVM also said that reports on social media that a man from Brabant had tested positive for the disease are false. There have so far been no confirmed cases in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, 13 Dutch nationals remain in their hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife where several Italian holidaymakers have been diagnosed with coronavirus.

They have been told to stay in their rooms and will be tested for the virus in the coming days.