Two families returning from Italy under probe for concealing illness

The public security bureau of Shunyi in Beijing launched an investigation against a woman surnamed Liao and others for allegedly obstructing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases on March 6.

Beijing Public Security Bureau revealed that eight members of Liao and her brother's families arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport on March 4, and four of them then were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.

According to the investigation, the two families have been running business in Italy for a long time. Since late February, the sister and brother had developed fever, dry cough and other symptoms consecutively. Before boarding the plane, they used drugs to reduce the temperature. Their family members did not truthfully fill in the exit/entry health declaration card and posed a risk of infection to their fellow passengers.

Beijing police said they will closely rely on the capital's strict management and coordination mechanism of joint prevention and control, and work with relevant departments to build a defensive line against cases imported from overseas.

By the end of Friday, the city reported 11 confirmed cases imported from overseas, including eight from Italy and three from Iran, said Gao Xiaojun, spokesperson of Beijing's health committee, at a press conference held on Saturday.

Beijing reported four new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia on Friday, bringing the city's confirmed cases to 426. The new cases have been sent to designated medical institutions for treatment.

As of Friday, 303 patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals in Beijing, and the number of deaths was eight.

The current number of suspected novel coronavirus cases in the capital is 35. The cases of close contact with patients accumulated to 3,545, of which 470 are still under isolation for medical observation.