Sichuan pilot gets COVID-19

The residential community where an international cargo flight pilot lives has been isolated since Tuesday after he was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. Tests are being required of all guests at a wedding ceremony he attended.

The pilot, surnamed Gao, 26, arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and was confirmed as an imported case of COVID-19 on Monday night, according to an announcement by the Sichuan provincial health commission on Tuesday.

The residential community in Chengdu where the pilot's apartment is located was closed on Tuesday, and daily necessities required by residents have to be sent by special personnel, according to Sichuan Daily.

The pilot was on a flight from Los Angeles in the United States on Nov 29 and tested negative during quarantine. After piloting another flight, from Chengdu to Jinan, Shandong province, Gao returned to Chengdu on Dec 9 and was quarantined until Saturday. The positive result was returned on Monday, the commission said.

On Saturday, Gao drove to attend a wedding banquet of 300 people in Jiangyou, Sichuan. All participants at that event have been ordered to get tests, according to an announcement by the city health authority on Tuesday.

The hotel for hosting the ceremony has been isolated and its staff members have been quarantined.

Nucleic acid tests were conducted on Gao's close contacts in Jiangyou. By midday on Tuesday, nucleic acid samples had been collected from 289 people, with 91 results so far coming back negative.

Chengdu reported a new confirmed local case of COVID-19 on Monday. As of Tuesday, Chengdu has had 12 locally confirmed case and one asymptomatic case, according to the provincial health commission.