4000 People Self-Quarantined Due to Man Attending Banquet After Hiding Wuhan Visit in China

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Due to a man who concealed his visit to Wuhan (武漢), Hubei (湖北) Province, China?the origin of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia)?and attended multiple large-scale banquets, over 4,000 people have had to undergo self-quarantine.

According to Chinese media such as Global Times and Xinhua News on the 5th, Mr. Jang (張), residing in Jinjiang (晋江), Fujian (福建) Province, China, lied that he returned from the Philippines instead of Wuhan when he visited his hometown. During the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) holiday, Jang attended large-scale banquets with about 3,000 attendees, as well as wedding receptions.

Xinhua News criticized, “Jang deliberately concealed his visit to Wuhan and attended large-scale banquets, playing drinking games with others,” adding, “He infected innocent people like a ‘moving source of infection.’”

Jang was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus on the 2nd. Subsequently, seven people related to him were confirmed positive, and over 4,000 people are currently under self-quarantine.

Jang is currently detained by the public security authorities, and investigations are underway to identify the number of people affected by this incident.

Moreover, in Ya’an (雅安), Sichuan (四川) Province, Mr. Hou (侯) concealed his visit to Wuhan and engaged in external activities such as receiving hospital treatment, resulting in about 100 close contacts, including 30 medical staff, being classified as close contacts.

Additionally, another Mr. Jang (張) in Weifang (?坊), Shandong (山東) Province, concealed his visit to Anhui (安徽) Province, which borders Hubei Province, and received hospital treatment. Consequently, 117 people, including 68 medical staff, were placed under quarantine.

Global Times reported that in an online poll on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) with 78,000 participants, 91% of respondents supported reflecting acts such as concealing ‘contact history’ in social credit scores.

The Heilongjiang (黑龍江) Provincial High People’s Court also issued an ‘urgent notice’ stating that those who intentionally spread the novel coronavirus or commit related crimes may face the death penalty.