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The coronavirus crisis has taken on a new, frightening dimension after it was discovered that a dead patient infected with the disease had spread it to a medical examiner.

Experts say the death, which happened in Thailand, marks the first time that a staff member at a forensic medicine unit dealing with dead bodies has been found to have contracted the virus.

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The development is putting professionals who deal with dead bodies on notice — this is a virus that can jump from the dead to the living — reported BuzzFeed, citing a study in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine.

“According to our best knowledge, this is the first report on COVID-19 infection and death among medical personnel in a Forensic Medicine unit,” reads an introduction to the study. The study encourages professionals to take the same care at morgues as they would in an operating theatre.

“At present, there is no data on the exact number of COVID-19 contaminated corpses since it is not a routine practice to examine for COVID-19 in dead bodies in Thailand,” the study adds.