WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand has reported its first case of coronavirus outside of a quarantine facility in more than two months, although there was no immediate evidence that the virus was spreading in the community.
Health Director General Ashley Bloomfield said on Sunday that it concerns a 56-year-old woman who recently returned from Europe.
Like other returning travelers, she spent 14 days in quarantine and tested negative twice before returning home on January 13. She later developed symptoms and tested positive.
He said health officials will conduct genome testing, but assume the case is a more transmissible variant of the virus.
He said they are investigating the possibility that she may have contracted the illness from another returning traveler who stayed in the same quarantine facility.
New Zealand has eliminated community transmission of the virus, at least for now. Bloomfield said officials are stepping up contact tracking and testing and hope to have more information on the case in the coming days.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region:
– A Chinese city has delivered 2,600 temporary treatment rooms as the north of the country fights new clusters of the corona virus. The single rooms in Nangong City in Hebei Province just outside Beijing are each equipped with their own heaters, toilets, showers and other amenities, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Special attention has been paid to Hebei due to its proximity to the capital, and the province has closed off large areas to prevent further spread of the virus. The provincial capital Shijiazhung and the city of Xingtai, which includes Nangong, are largely closed. Community isolation and large-scale testing have also been enforced. The National Health Commission reported 19 additional cases in Hebei on Sunday. The far northeastern province of Heilongjiang reported a further 29 cases, partly related to an outbreak at a meat processing plant. Beijing, where about 2 million residents have been ordered to undergo new tests, reported two new confirmed cases. China currently has 1,800 people being treated for COVID-19, 94 of whom are listed in severe condition, and an additional 1,017 people are individually monitored for testing positive for the virus without showing any symptoms.
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