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Mystery of BMW with COVID19 licence plate takes unusual turn

The mystery of the BMW with a “COVID19” licence plate has taken an unusual turn after making news across the country earlier this week.

The grey sedan has been parked at Adelaide Airport for months, according to worker Steven Spry, who sent a picture of the car and its notorious licence plate to ABC Radio Adelaide.

Mr Spry said airport staff were certain the car had been parked in the carpark since March, but it was possible it had been there since February “or even earlier”.

The BMW with COVID19 license is seen driving on an Adelaide road.
Despite staff claiming the car has been abandoned since February, dashcam footage has emerged of the vehicle being driven in the city on March 24. Source: Dan Parfitt/ABC

Coronavirus was only labelled COVID-19 for the first time in mid-February, one month before officially being declared a pandemic.

The owner of the BMW has since been found and has confirmed they are interstate, an Adelaide Airport spokesperson told ABC on Thursday.

Despite staff claiming the car has been abandoned since February, dashcam footage has emerged of the vehicle being driven in the city on March 24.

Driver Dan Parfitt, who captured the footage, told ABC he immediately noticed the car’s unusual licence plate.

"It obviously stood out straight away… I took a Snapchat video of it and never thought of it again," he said.

"It was pretty early in the proceedings before it really kicked off here."

Other personalised licence plates about coronavirus – including “Wuhan”, “Virus” and “2020WTF” – have been spotted in Adelaide and across the country and posted to Instagram.

A Holden Ute has been registered with the “Wuhan” plate since February, according to ABC.

A Toyota Corona also has the number plate "Virus”, the publication said.

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