According to reports, a “superspreader” vendor has been linked to more than 100 COVID-19 cases after passing through northeast China promoting products for the elderly.
The 45-year-old unknowingly spread the virus as he traveled from his home province of Heilongjiang to neighboring Jilin province, Agence France-Presse reported.
While traveling the region to teach health care workshops to the elderly, the man, who was asymptomatic, boarded at least four trains before officials tracked him down, the South China Morning Post reported.
Health officials in Jilin said 102 infections were related to his trip to the cities of Gongzhuling and Tonghua.
“The superspreading phenomenon mainly occurred in our province because when the superspreader was discovered, it was still in the early stages of its infection and had a relatively strong ability to shed the virus,” said Zhao Qinglong, an official in Jilin’s provincial disease control and prevention. center, state-run news outlet Xinhua said.
The outbreak is because more than 3 million people in the province have been locked out, AFP reported.
Officials are investigating whether the health clubs where the seller ran his programs violated guidelines, the outlets reported.