Infections at 169 as 16 more local cases confirmed

SIXTEEN more patients were confirmed infected with coronavirus as of midday yesterday, the city’s health authority said, adding that another 46 suspected cases had been ruled out and one patient discharged.

Of the newly diagnosed patients, five are from Hubei Province — four from the provincial capital Wuhan — and 11 are Shanghai residents.

Five of the residents live in the Pudong New Area, three in Baoshan District, two in Xuhui District and one in Changning District.

So far, the city has reported 169 infections in total, with patients aged between 7 and 88, and cleared 342 suspected cases, the Shanghai Health Commission said.

Among those infected, only two have no known close contact with people from Hubei. Seventy-three are from outside of Shanghai, including 51 from Wuhan, 20 from other cities in Hubei, and one each from Anhui and Heilongjiang provinces.

Currently, 149 patients are stable, three are considered in a serious condition and six are critical. Ten patients have been discharged from hospital upon recovery and there has been one fatality. Another 166 suspected cases are undergoing tests.

A 77-year-old woman was discharged after recovering from coronavirus yesterday.

The woman is a Wuhan native. Her temperature and respiration have been normal for the past three days. Two nucleic acid tests were both negative, meeting the standard for discharge, the commission said.

So far, 10 coronavirus patients have been discharged upon recovery in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office and 12345, the government affairs hotline, will provide consultation for expats on coronavirus-related issues from today, the Shanghai Information Office announced.

The line will be open from 8am to 8pm, Yin Xin, a director of Shanghai Information Office, said at a press conference.

The Foreign Affairs Office launched a multilingual service on its website yesterday with the latest news in Chinese, English, French, Japanese and Korean.