Virus case in Guangzhou triggers further probe

Li Ming, second from left, said relevant departments have carried out coronavirus tracing campaign after a woman was confirmed to be a COVID-19 patient in Guangzhou's Liwan district on Friday. [Photo by Zheng Caixiong/chinadaily.com.cn]

Guangdong provincial and Guangzhou city centers of disease prevention and control have carried out coronavirus tracing campaign after a woman was confirmed to be a COVID-19 patient in Liwan district in Guangzhou Friday morning.

Li Ming, vice-mayor of Guangzhou, said relevant departments have immediately launched further epidemiological investigation and disinfection on the public venues the patient surnamed Guo once visited.

"So far, nucleic acid testing results for Guo's husband, her daughter and five other family members have come out negative," Li said during a news conference on Friday.

She refuted online rumors that Guo's family members had been detected with COVID-19 before Guo fell ill.

And nucleic acid test results for 65 out of 67 Guo's close contacts have been reported negative, while those for only two of Guo's contacts have yet to come out as of 5 pm Friday, she said.

She urged locals to pay special attention to personal hygiene, keep social distance,do ventilation and not panic

Guo, 75, took some flu medicine herself when she felt uncomfortable on Tuesday, and she had a fever the following day.

Guo, who lives in the district's Longjin Street, then walked to a nearby clinic to seek medical help on Thursday afternoon.

Guo's nucleic acid test came out positive on the early Friday morning and she was later detected as a confirmed case with light symptoms by local medical experts.

Guo has now been sent to Guangzhou No 8 People's Hospital, a designated facility for COVID-19 patients in Guangzhou, for further observation and treatment.

Li said Guo had been in Guangzhou for more than two weeks before she fell ill and she never visited medium- and high-risk areas and foreign nations and regions in the previous months.

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