Coronavirus: Chinese police hunt close contacts of silent carriers in locked down Jia county in Henan province
- Authorities urge residents of nearby community to report any meetings with four patients
- Pursuit follows attempts by top city officials to reassure public that life will soon get back to normal
The three asymptomatic patients in Jia county – all doctors at the local hospital – tested positive for the coronavirus on the weekend, raising an immediate red flag that the area may be hit by a new wave of infections. Jia county is home to about 600,000 people and is administered by Pingdingshan.
Authorities are also trying to trace contacts of a fourth person who tested positive after showing some symptoms. The fourth patient, a cleaner from the county who works in Luohe about 100km (60 miles) away, is a friend of one of the doctors and had returned to the county before becoming ill.
In Feixing, a small district in Pingdingshan, a notice issued by the community on Monday called on all residents to report to the authorities immediately if they had been in contact with the four patients. It also called on residents who had been to a specific department store, several restaurants and two estates in the previous 10 days to stay home.
“People who have shown symptoms such as fever and coughing must immediately report to the community,” the notice said.
A Feixing official confirmed on Thursday that the office was keeping a close watch on residents who might have had contact with the doctors.