Another 11 coronavirus cases confirmed in Shanghai

Shanghai confirmed another 11 coronavirus cases and cleared 28 suspected cases on Thursday morning, according to the Shanghai Health Commission. This pushes the total number of confirmed cases in the city to 112, including 60 males and 52 females, aged between 7 and 88.

The newly confirmed patients include two from Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, one from Heilongjiang Province and eight Shanghai residents, including those with local residency and people staying in the city for over six months. 

The local residents include four living in Pudong New Area, two in Songjiang District and one each in Yangpu and Minhang districts.

Among all patients, 78 have lived in or traveled to Hubei Province. One patient traveled to Guangdong Province and ate wild animal meat. Another 31 have had close contact with infected patients or had close contact with people from Hubei, the commission said.

Wu Jinglei, director of the commission, said at a news conference on Thursday that two patients without any contact with Hubei include an 81-year-old father and his 52-year-old daughter. They developed symptoms including fatigue and cough on January 12. They were diagnosed with coronavirus-related pneumonia on Wednesday.

Wu said that an investigation is still underway into how the pair became infected. He added that similar cases were reported in other provinces.

He said Shanghai has enhanced epidemic monitoring since the virus outbreak, intensifying screening and quarantine of close contacts with infected patients and conducting tests on some of them. The city has also enhanced monitoring of flu patients and done new coronavirus tests on certain patients.

He added that Shanghai has not seen infected patients without symptoms but keeps a close eye on such cases in other provinces. The city is also adjusting prevention and control measures according to the latest guidelines from the National Health Commission.

Currently, 102 patients in the city are in stable condition, another four are critical, one has died and five have been discharged upon recovery, the commission said.

So far, 173 suspected cases have been cleared and another 199 suspected cases are undergoing tests.