Switzerland reported its first COVID-19  case on Tuesday in the southern region of Ticino near its Italian border.

The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) told the media in Bern that the male patient was in his 70s and had been infected in the Milan region of Italy during an event on February 15. The first symptoms appeared two days later, explained FOPH director Pascal Strupler.

Laboratory tests carried out in Geneva revealed that the patient had been infected with the COVID-19, according to local authorities.