Slovenia confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with some health experts believing the patient contracted the virus in Morocco.

Rabat – Slovenia’s Health Minister, Ales Sabeder, confirmed the Central European country’s first case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) yesterday.

The patient traveled to Slovenia from Morocco through Italy, the minister said.

An associate professor at the Slovenian National Public Health Institute (NIJZ), Maja Socan, believes the virus is an imported case.

“It seems that the person was infected in Morocco,” Socan said.

The professor said the patient arrived in Slovenia several days before going to the hospital.

“We have to identify who the person was in contact with,” she stated.

Health officials want to identify anyone who made contact with the patient to prevent the virus from spreading.

Morocco announced its first case of COVID-19 Monday, March 2. The Pasteur Institute in Morocco confirmed a second case to the Ministry of Health today, March 5.

Both carriers of the virus recently arrived in Morocco from Italy. The patients are under quarantine in Casablanca and receiving medical treatment.

There are about 95,000 coronavirus infections confirmed worldwide. The majority of cases and fatalities have been recorded in China, with 3,000 deaths from the virus.

Health officials across the world are advising people to take maximum preventive measures to avoid infections, like washing hands regularly and covering the mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing.