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Health in China
ChinaPeople & Culture

Coronavirus: concern in Wuhan community over suspected asymptomatic case

  • Man who didn’t have fever or cough tested negative, then positive, then negative again
  • There are fears over possible carriers without symptoms who are not counted in official figures

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Medical workers from Tianjin say goodbye to colleagues they have been helping in Wuhan, which has reported no new cases for three days. Photo: Xinhua
Zhuang Pinghui
Mainland China reported no new domestic coronavirus cases for a third day, but a man without symptoms who tested positive before being cleared of the illness had a community in Wuhan on alert.
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There were 41 new cases recorded on Friday in the mainland, all of them imported from overseas – including 14 patients in Beijing, nine in Shanghai and seven in Guangdong.

That was the third day there were no new local cases across the country, and the ninth day for provinces other than Hubei, which has been the worst hit by the virus.

But a case in Wuhan has raised concern about possible carriers who are not counted in the official figures because they do not have immediate symptoms, typically known as being asymptomatic.

Qiaokou authorities said a 62-year-old man from the district was tested for the pneumonia-like illness three times – he was negative on Tuesday, positive on Thursday, when he was admitted to hospital, but tested negative again on Friday.

The man did not have symptoms such as a fever or cough so was not counted as a confirmed case, according to a statement. He had gone for a check-up because of enlarged lymph nodes in his neck.

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