Yesterday, Guangdong Province, China, announced its epidemic situation and reported an asymptomatic domestic infection for the first time. According to the report, there was a case of asymptomatic infection on March 31 in Shenzhen and it was imported internally from the epicenter of the pandemic outbreak in Hubei.
China is beginning to grapple with several imported infection cases, but now it is also beginning to show some concern about so-called asymptomatic cases.
Data from the end of March pointed to 10 imported cases in Guangdong province, the vast majority – nine – occurred in Guangzhou, the provincial capital and one case in Foshan. Of the 10 reported cases, three came from the United States, two cases from Nigeria and one case came from each of the following countries: Philippines, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Angola.
Zhang Zhoubin, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Guangzhou, revealed that so far 11 asymptomatic infections have been found among immigrants and are now in the care of Guangzhou People’s Hospital. However, seven people were discharged.
According to the same medical officer, as of midnight on March 31, Guangzhou registered a total of 92 cases of imported cases, of which 70 were Chinese and 22 were foreigners. Occupational distribution focuses mainly on service workers and students.
But what about this asymptomatic infection? Zhang Zhoubin explained that there are two cases of asymptomatic SARS-Cov-2 infection: one is that the infected person does a positive nucleic acid test and, after 14 days of incubation, there is no self-perception or clinical recognition of the disease. In the second case, the infected person’s nucleic acid test is positive and there are no self-perceiving, or clinically identifiable, symptoms and signs at the time of screening.
Zhang Zhoubin also said that Guangzhou strictly treats asymptomatic infections according to the relevant requirements of the National Health Commission of China. The regulations show that people with asymptomatic infections should be quarantined for 14 days. In principle, people who have been quarantined for 14 days and have two consecutive negative nucleic acid tests (sampling interval of at least 24 hours) can be released from quarantine. If the nucleic acid test is still positive, the patient should remain isolated and under medical observation.
