However, authorities say drastic measures such as border closures to stem the contagion are not needed. The coronavirus has now spread to 10 of Germany's 16 states, with more than half the confirmed cases in North Rhine-Westphalia. Germany's most populous state emerged as a hotspot after an infected couple attended carnival celebrations there, infecting dozens of people.
Carmaker BMW confirmed on Monday that one of its employees in Munich has tested positive for the virus. Staff who have had close contact with the man have been asked to self-quarantine for 14 days, a spokeswoman said, and affected areas have been sealed off and disinfected.
Amid growing fears over contagion, disinfectants, hand sanitisers and other protective products have sold out in many German shops. In Lower Saxony, 1,200 protective face masks were stolen from a hospital in the town of Sulingen near Bremen, news agency DPA reported, citing local police. The hospital reported the theft after a stock check revealed that the masks were missing from a storage room. They were probably stolen on Wednesday or Thursday last week, police said.
With panic setting in, security at Bundesliga football club RB Leipzig threw out a group of Japanese fans, forcing the team to apologise on Monday.
The group were removed from the stadium by security about 10 minutes into the game against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday. The club said its security had made a "mistake" after being asked to carry out extra checks on people from potential risk areas.