FRANKFURT, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Eight more people were found infected with COVID-19 on Wednesday across three German states, in addition to the two diagnosed cases on Tuesday, authorities have confirmed.

The caseload includes one in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, three in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg and four in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The German armed forces Bundeswehr said on late Wednesday that a soldier was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus and is being treated at Bundeswehr's central hospital in Koblenz.

The soldier was also the first confirmed case of COVID-19 infection in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The neighboring state of Baden-Wuerttemberg also reported three more cases on Wednesday. Two of the new infections in the town of Tuebingen were directly linked to a previously known sick patient from the Goeppingen district, who tested positive on Tuesday, according to the state ministry of health.

The third person from the district of Rottweil, though having no connection to the other three cases, had recently been to Italy.

Meanwhile, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, a sick couple are being treated at the University Hospital in Duesseldorf. The man was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Tuesday, followed by his wife on Wednesday.

Authorities from the Heinsberg district in North Rhine-Westphalia announced late Wednesday that in the course of checking the contact persons of the sick couple, three new cases of infections have just been confirmed.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said in Berlin earlier on Wednesday that the country is at the beginning of a coronavirus epidemic, after new development since Tuesday.

Previously, 16 cases were confirmed in Germany, which could be either traced back to a company in Bavaria or linked to a repatriation flight from Wuhan, China. Fifteen of the patients have reportedly recovered. Enditem

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