Take asymptomatic COVID-19 cases seriously: Expert

Don't panic but take them seriously, said an infectious disease expert about asymptomatic cases at a press conference on COVID-19 prevention and control by

Beijing municipality on Tuesday in Beijing.

Zhang Fujie, an infectious diseases expert at Beijing Ditan Hospital, said Beijing has been prepared for the situation. The city has conducted health screening and medical observation for all close contacts and returnees to Beijing and provided prompt treatment for suspected and confirmed cases, he said.

Once detected, cases that show no symptoms will be put under clinical observation and receive treatment and regular follow-up after being discharged from the hospital, he added.

Asymptomatic patients will be discharged after being negative for two consecutive nucleic acid tests conducted at least 24 hours apart, the same discharge criteria for confirmed cases, Zhang said. After being discharged, they will have to go through a two-week home quarantine.

With strict prevention and control measures, Beijing has been receiving people from Central China's Hubei province in an orderly way.

Mao Jun, deputy director of the Beijing Major Transport Stations Management Committee, said from Wednesday to Monday, 18,000 people stranded in Hubei returned to Beijing on 21 high-speed trains or by self-driving via highways.

Some 3,200 passengers from Hubei are expected to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday on five high-speed trains.