COVID-19 is the technical term for coronavirus, and we’re pretty sure you don’t need any further explanation of what it is. According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) status report of March 2, there were 88,948 confirmed cases of coronavirus in 64 countries, including Germany. We know this because the WHO lists 129 confirmed cases in the country, but also because one of these cases is an employee of BMW in Munich.
According to a report from Automotive News Europe, the infected employee prompted BMW to tell 150 other employees to stay at home in auto-quarantine for two weeks. The infected person works at the automaker’s research and development center and is said to have been in contact with around 150 other people. It is not known exactly how the person got the virus, as the person apparently has not traveled abroad recently.
So far, it is the only case of coronavirus known to affect BMW employees at the automaker’s headquarters in Munich. As you can imagine, the affected area was closed and disinfected and BMW operations would not be affected by the viral threat. The infected employee is doing well; no deaths from coronaviruses have been reported in Germany and as of March 2, 3,043 deaths have been reported worldwide, the vast majority (2,915) occurring in China. Compared to the number of confirmed cases, the mortality rate from coronavirus so far is 3.4%.
The threat from the virus was enough to kill one of the biggest and longest-running auto shows of the 2020 season, however. Media days for the Geneva 2020 show would have started today, but last week , the Swiss government has banned events and rallies of more than 1,000 people.
It is unclear whether this decision was specifically aimed at shutting down the auto show before an international audience of automakers, journalists and participants arrived in the country. The decision left many automakers scrambling to organize individual revelation events for a plethora of new cars and concepts slated to debut at the show.
Eyes are now on the New York Auto Show, which is slated to take place in early April.
COVID-19 is the technical term for coronavirus, and we’re pretty sure you don’t need any further explanation of what it is. According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) status report of March 2, there were 88,948 confirmed cases of coronavirus in 64 countries, including Germany. We know this because the WHO lists 129 confirmed cases in the country, but also because one of these cases is an employee of BMW in Munich.
According to a report from Automotive News Europe, the infected employee prompted BMW to tell 150 other employees to stay at home in auto-quarantine for two weeks. The infected person works at the automaker’s research and development center and is said to have been in contact with around 150 other people. It is not known exactly how the person got the virus, as the person apparently has not traveled abroad recently.
So far, it is the only case of coronavirus known to affect BMW employees at the automaker’s headquarters in Munich. As you can imagine, the affected area was closed and disinfected and BMW operations would not be affected by the viral threat. The infected employee is doing well; no deaths from coronaviruses have been reported in Germany and as of March 2, 3,043 deaths have been reported worldwide, the vast majority (2,915) occurring in China. Compared to the number of confirmed cases, the mortality rate from coronavirus so far is 3.4%.
The threat from the virus was enough to kill one of the biggest and longest-running auto shows of the 2020 season, however. Media days for the Geneva 2020 show would have started today, but last week , the Swiss government has banned events and rallies of more than 1,000 people.
It is unclear whether this decision was specifically aimed at shutting down the auto show before an international audience of automakers, journalists and participants arrived in the country. The decision left many automakers scrambling to organize individual revelation events for a plethora of new cars and concepts slated to debut at the show.
Eyes are now on the New York Auto Show, which is slated to take place in early April.