Thieves in Germany have stolen 50,000 protective face masks intended for medical clinics from a hospital, German news agency DPA reports.

Spokeswoman for the hospital in Cologne told DPA that the stealing is a new is a new grade of theft.

“We’re talking about items that normally have a value measured in cents, but apparently there’s a market for them now.”

The city’s crisis management team took measures to secure and check all stocks after the theft.

The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Germany on 27 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Bavaria. The majority of the COVID-19 cases in January and early February originated from the headquarters of a car parts manufacturer in Bavaria and, seemingly, from there to Northern Italy, where the company has offices.(Leadership)