A British man who contracted the novel coronavirus during a business trip has spread the virus to 11 more people from three countries. These people brought the virus to the UK, France and Spain.
The man, now in his 50s, has been visiting Singapore for a sales conference since January. The conference was attended by just over 100 people, and one of the attendees was from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak of the new coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCoV, is believed to have originated. Officials believe that the Briton contracted the influenza virus during the conference.
Not knowing that he had contracted the virus, the man went from Singapore to a French ski resort, where he had stayed with his family since January.
It was at this resort that a person spread the virus to 11 other people. These include five people who tested positive for the virus in France, four people who tested positive for the virus in the UK, and one person who tested positive for the virus in Spain.
Given how many cases of coronavirus are associated with a British person, he appears to be the superspy, or the one transmitting the pathogen to an unusually large number of people.
Previous research has shown that people infected with 2019-nCoV only spread the virus to two other people, on average.
The man is currently hospitalized in London. Officials continue to track people who have had contact with the person, such as those on his return flight to the UK.