China Faces COVID-19 Reimportation from Abroad... Passenger Returning from Iran Diagnosed Late

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] The first case of COVID-19 re-importation has been discovered in China.

On the 28th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that a passenger who entered China’s Shanghai Airport via Moscow from Tehran, Iran, was later confirmed to have COVID-19.

SCMP stated that this is the first case of a patient imported from overseas amid China’s stringent measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from abroad.

According to Shanghai health authorities, the confirmed patient traveled from Tehran, Iran to Moscow, Russia on the evening of February 19th via a Russian airline, and the next day entered Shanghai Pudong International Airport from Moscow. Shanghai customs authorities did not take any special measures during the in-flight quarantine on the 20th as the patient showed no abnormal symptoms. However, he was confirmed positive for COVID-19 in a test conducted on the 26th.

Chinese health authorities tracked and quarantined 63 passengers who were on the same flight as the patient. Considering that he traveled by train from Shanghai Airport through Gansu Province’s Lanzhou to Zhongwei in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region after arrival, efforts are focused on identifying additional close contacts along his travel route.