It appears the novel coronavirus can pass from a dead patient to the living.

According to the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, a forensic practitioner working in Thailand became infected with COVID-19 and later died, becoming what is believed to be the first medical examiner to die of the virus in the world.

“According to our best knowledge, this is the first report on COVID-19 infection and death among medical personnel in a Forensic Medicine unit,” the introduction to the study said.

The study, reported by BuzzFeed News, also illustrates the need for people handling dead bodies, including those working in morgues and funeral homes, are ensuring safety is top of mind.

“Infection control and universal precautions are necessary,” suggest study authors Won Sriwijitalai of the RVT Medical Center in Bangkok, and Viroj Wiwanitkit, of Dr. D.Y. Patil University in Pune, India. “Forensic professionals have to wear protective devices including a protective suit, gloves, goggles, cap and mask.”

However, the authors stress the chances of forensic workers getting infected with COVID-19 are low.

“There is low chance of forensic medicine professionals coming into contact with infected patients, but they can have contact with biological samples and corpses.”

Currently, it is unknown how long the virus can survive in dead bodies or whether corpses can be contagious.