Brabant Covid-19 patient doing well; not contagious during carnival

The Noord-Brabant man being treated for Covid-19 in the Elisabeth-TweeSteden hospital in Tilburg is doing well, Tilburg mayor Theo Weterings said in a press conference on Friday. The mayor also confirmed that the man celebrated carnival in his hometown, but said that he was not yet contagious when this happened, NOS and NU.nl report.

The health authorities are considering discharging the man, so that he can be quarantined in the comfort of his own home in Loon op Zand, Weterings said. 

The man was admitted to the Elisabeth-TweeSteden hospital on Wednesday. Due to "strong suspicions" that he had the coronavirus, he was immediately quarantined as according to the protocol. On Thursday evening, his Covid-19 tests came back positive. 

The local health service GGD is making contact with a few dozen people who had contact with the man in the period that he was contagious. If they were in close contact with the man, they will have to take their temperature twice a day and submit it to the GGD. If they show symptoms, the GGD will test them for Covid-19. Whether that has happened yet, doctor Ariene Rietveld of GGD Hart voor Brabant would not say at the press conference. 

At this stage the authorities in Tilburg see no reason to cancel events or sporting matches in the municipality. 

The man from Loon op Zand has no connection with a woman from the Amsterdam region who was also diagnosed with Covid-19 on Friday, though both are believed to have contracted the virus while visiting risk areas in the Lombardy region of Italy. 

The government launched a helpline number Netherlands residents can call with questions about the coronavirus. The number is 0800-1351.