US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — Some Chinese medical experts are calling for additional measures to curb the spread of asymptomatic COVID-19, as more and more asymptomatic carriers of the virus are registered throughout the country.
On March 29, the Henan Provincial Health Commission reported that on Saturday the patient was in close contact with an asymptomatic virus carrier, a doctor working in the Jiaxian County Hospital.
They were together in the same car, and also had dinner together before she developed symptoms on March 24th.
The Henan Provincial Health Commission also found that one of the doctor’s colleagues traveled to Wuhan and went through 14-day quarantine. Until now, testing of three doctors from the hospital has shown positive results, however, the carriers of the virus did not have any symptoms during the medical examination.
In addition, asymptomatic carriers were recorded in Dezhou, Shandong, Guiyang, Guizhou and Mianyang, Sichuan. On Thursday, a case was confirmed in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, which was infected by an asymptomatic carrier in an airplane.
On Sunday, the Gansu Provincial Health Commission issued a decree to strengthen monitoring of asymptomatic carriers, and calls on people coming from Hubei to be tested twice. Only with a double negative result will they be allowed to go to work.
This happened after a test for coronavirus in a person from Hubei Province showed a positive result. This situation caused concern, because the patient had a “green code” – a QR code that is issued to healthy people in Hubei Province.
Leading Chinese medical experts have warned that additional measures must be taken to combat the spread of the virus associated with asymptomatic cases. However, according to some doctors, the public has no reason to panic.
Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said China’s preventive measures have been shown to be effective despite asymptomatic patients.
“Although asymptomatic cases are not considered confirmed, this does not mean that we do not pay attention to them,” said Zeng Guang. He added: “We are confident in preventing the further spread of asymptomatic cases.”
Zhong Nanshan, one of China’s most respected respiratory disease experts, confirmed Zeng Guang’s opinion in an interview with China Central Television. According to Zhong Nanshan, the disease curve and current mortality rate suggest that there are unlikely to be many undetected asymptomatic cases.
Containing the spread of asymptomatic carriers has long been included in the epidemic control plan. According to the plan published on January 28, although asymptomatic carriers are not included in the number of confirmed cases, they “will be under strict control and under 14-day quarantine”.
Quarantine will continue until the media test shows a negative result twice. Moreover, asymptomatic carriers will be hospitalized as soon as they develop any symptoms.
According to the representative of the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Lu Jinsin, the public should pay attention to any discomfort, including symptoms such as coughing, fatigue and sore throat, as well as strengthen self-defense, in particular wearing masks.
“Hospitals need to tighten control over such patients and track close contacts to find asymptomatic carriers,” he said.
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