Twenty-nine people have been infected locally in Liaoning and Anhui provinces in four days, but officials have yet to find the source of the infection – “patient zero. Medical professionals say that if the source is not found, the chain of transmission cannot be cut off and the epidemic in China fears to worsen again.
As of May 17, there were 13 locally infected patients in Yingkou, Liaoning, two in Shenyang, 12 in Liuan, Anhui, and two in Hefei.
Ms. Guan, a resident of Shenyang, told Free Asia that local government officials are so nervous about the recent sudden emergence of indigenous cases that they fear being removed from their posts by higher authorities.
Ms. Guan said, “There have been more than 30 cases nationwide, 9 new cases in Yingkou, and then 12 cases in Anhui, all of which are local cases. Previously, they were imported cases from abroad. It is possible that the epidemic has re-emerged.”
Although the outbreak is spreading rapidly, officials have yet to find a “patient zero” for the new wave of local cases.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the CDC, told Punch News on May 15 that the first confirmed case of the local outbreak came from Liu’an, Anhui province, but the source of the outbreak likely began spreading from Yingkou, Liaoning province. The specific source of the virus remains to be investigated.
Sun Decai, who works in a hospital in Anhui province, said that the transmission chain cannot be cut off if the source is not found.
Sun Decai said, “Now there is just no zero, no zero cases found. According to the sporadic infected people who appear around the world, they infected to others, they carry the virus is the raw material of the virus, or the latest, are not known, just they (CDC). So, there are a lot of questions about this. Where is patient zero? Do officials need to do crowd control.”
Since May 17, full nucleic acid testing has been conducted in Liuan, Anhui Province, and all people entering Yingkou, Liaoning Province, must have a negative nucleic acid test certificate within seven days.
Several officials in Liaoning and Anhui have been held accountable due to the spread of the outbreak. Among them, Song Liangwei, deputy secretary of the party group and deputy director of the Liaoning Provincial Health Care Commission; Jin Li, deputy mayor of the Yingkou Municipal Government; Meng Xin, deputy secretary of the Mackerel District Committee and district governor; Wang Chengcheng, director of the Yingkou Health Care Commission, were admonished for talking; Li Hongyang, deputy governor of the Mackerel District, was given a political demerit and removed from office.
In addition, according to the Office of the Integrated Command of Epidemic Control in Lu’an City, Anhui Province, on the 16th, the preliminary treatment of the relevant units and individuals in the city’s Yu’an District for violating the first consultation responsibility system was proposed, and Lu’an Municipal Hospital was ordered to suspend its business for rectification, the main official of the Yu’an District Health Commission was suspended for investigation, and the Yu’an District Party Committee and District Government were ordered to make a profound inspection.
As of May 17, the number of risk areas in the Chinese epidemic has also risen to 17. Further districts were sealed in Liuan City, Anhui Province and Yingkou City, Liaoning Province. The video circulated online shows that people can only enter and not exit the Tian Ying Xing Cheng neighborhood in Liuan City starting in the evening of the 16th. 17 was completely sealed off.
The city of Yingkou mackerel circle not only blocked cells, but also began to seal the streets. The net video shows that police cars directly block the street, traffic police, special police while guarding. The area is surrounded by barbed wire and welded shut, and the epidemic prevention personnel are spraying drugs in the area, and the atmosphere is tense.
At the same time, a large number of residents were pulled to the hotel to concentrate on isolation.
On the 17th day, Xiongyue Town in Yingkou City also had epidemic prevention personnel sealing the doors with electric welding. In Dalian, a large number of people were doing nucleic acid tests at the Liaoyu International Fish Market, indicating that the outbreak was spreading.
Two weeks ago, during the May Day holiday, hundreds of millions of people went out to play across the country, creating a dense crowd and a fear of a breach of epidemic prevention. The CDC issued a recommendation on the eve of the holiday on April 26, asking people returning from the May Day holiday to observe themselves for 14 days.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also mentioned the epidemic at a meeting of the State Council on the same day, saying he wanted to “release information in a factual and transparent manner, curb epidemics in key areas, and improve the normalized prevention and control mechanism.
Li Keqiang, at the March 23 meeting of the Central Epidemic Working Group, also repeatedly stressed that the epidemic should be “open and transparent”, “no concealment and omission”, “epidemic statistics must be timely, true and accurate “, which seems to have a hidden meaning.
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