Two new imported coronavirus cases confirmed

Shanghai confirmed two new imported cases of coronavirus infection on Tuesday morning, the Shanghai Health Commission said.

Both cases involve natives of China’s Fujian Province who worked and lived in Italy. Their flight departed from Bologna, Italy, with a stopover in Moscow, and arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on March 8.

They were immediately transferred to a designated hospital for medical observation as they showed symptoms of infection upon arrival in Shanghai.

They were confirmed with infections based on nucleic test results, imaging examinations, clinical symptoms and epidemiological investigations.

The Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention has launched an investigation with customs authorities and police to track down close contacts of these infected individuals. So far, 19 contacts in the city have been found and put under quarantine for medical observation in designated places, said Zheng Jin, spokeswoman for the Shanghai Health Commission.

Meanwhile, another six suspected coronavirus cases were ruled out and four more patients were discharged from hospital upon recovery in the latest 12 hours as of noon on Tuesday, Zheng said.

So far, the city has reported 344 infections and ruled out 2,549 suspected cases.

Among all confirmed patients, aged between 7 months and 88 years old, 145 have traveled or lived in Hubei Province, 34 have traveled or lived in other regions of China, 159 had contact history with infected persons, four have lived in Iran and two in Italy.

Besides the six imported cases, 111 of the patients are from other Chinese cities and 227 are local residents, referring to those with registered residency and people staying in the city for over six months.

According to the local health commission, 22 people are currently being treated for coronavirus infection in city hospitals. Among them, 14 patients are stable and eight are in critical condition. A total of 319 patients have recovered and been discharged.

There have been three local fatalities so far.

Another 24 suspected cases are undergoing tests, including 11 from overseas, the commission said.