Local case of COVID confirmed in Xi’an

A new confirmed locally transmitted novel coronavirus infection was reported in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, on Thursday, the city government said.

A medical worker serving quarantined patients at a designated hospital for COVID-19 tested positive, it said in a statement.

The worker, surnamed Liu, 36, handled nucleic acid sampling and laboratory testing for patients in quarantine at the Xi’an Eighth Hospital.

Liu began working in isolation wards on March 4 and has had no contact with people outside the hospital since then, the Shaanxi Provincial Health Commission said.

Her nucleic acid test result was negative on March 11 and she had a normal body temperature until Tuesday. She reported having a headache when her body temperature rose to 37.9 C on Wednesday morning. Another coronavirus test came back positive, and she is now getting treatment.

Liu had previously worked three 21-day rounds in isolation wards for COVID-19 patients and was in her fourth round when she tested positive.

The hospital where Liu works received the first COVID-19 patient reported in the city, and has received 316 confirmed cases and 203 asymptomatic carriers so far. It now has eight imported confirmed COVID-19 cases and five asymptomatic carriers, all of whom have been isolated. Experts said Liu was infected at work after being exposed to the novel coronavirus by accident.

All of Liu’s 33 colleagues, who have been working at the isolation wards since March 4, have had no contact with people on the outside.

They have been quarantined and are under medical observation. So far, their results have been negative.

The case in Xi’an was the first locally transmitted one reported since a case was found in Hebei province on Feb 14, Jiemian.com, a news outlet based in Shanghai, reported on Thursday.

The Chinese mainland reported no new locally transmitted cases on Wednesday, the National Health Commission said on Thursday, adding that six new imported cases were reported on Wednesday.