Guangzhou updates status on virus

Sixteen hospitals in 11 districts in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, are providing coronavirus tests for people entering China from overseas.

Translations are available in those places, said Xia Haihui, an official with the city's health commission, at a news conference on Thursday in Guangzhou.

As of Wednesday, the city had reported 39 COVID-19 patients and 102 asymptomatic carriers among expatriates. Of those, 15 patients remained hospitalized and 72 asymptomatic carriers were undergoing medical observation at hospitals.

A total of 23,657 expatriates in Guangzhou have applied for a QR code for health management that is available in Chinese, English, French, Japanese and Korean languages, said Yue Xiangyang, deputy secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Guangzhou Committee.

Personal information security and privacy protection have been prioritized in promoting the QR code service, he said.

As of April 10, 30,768 foreigners were living in Guangzhou, according to government records. Because of the epidemic, more than 50,000 expatriates have been stranded and are unable to return.

Eighteen hotels have been designated in Guangzhou to accommodate people traveling from overseas who need to be quarantined upon arrival. The hotels received 5,702 people between Feb 29 and Wednesday, with 768 currently being housed, said Ke Xiandong, deputy director of the city's tourism bureau.

While strict hygiene measures have been imposed for both the staff and guests, tailor-made services are provided to guests to make their time as comfortable as possible, based on age, health condition and religious beliefs. Special soups and fruits are provided to help guests strengthen their immunity, Ke said.

Anti-epidemic efforts have been focused on imported cases and local infections associated with them in Guangzhou.