43 People Quarantined in Sanya After Two Visitors Dined Near Asymptomatic Carrier

COVID-19 is making headlines in the tropical resort town of Sanya in Hainan province after it was discovered that two passengers – Lei and Guan – who flew from Xian to Hainan on Dec 9 had been in close proximity to an asymptomatic coronavirus patient at an airport restaurant before their departure.

Subsequently, on Dec 11, 43 people who had been in close contact with Lei and Guan, including 29 folks in their tour group (other guests, tour guides, and drivers), and 12 individuals who ate at the same restaurants in Hainan, were promptly isolated and given nucleic acid tests. At the time of writing, all 43 people to have been tested, as well as Lei and Guan, turned up negative results. They are, however, still under quarantine.

Given its warmer, tropical climate, Hainan – and specifically Sanya – is a popular destination for Beijingers hoping to escape the city’s bitterly cold winter. At present, there doesn’t seem to be any new travel restrictions, however, as we’ve come to expect over the course of this year, things can change both drastically and rapidly, and we’re certainly not out of the woods yet. That means anyone who intended on vacationing in “China’s Hawaii” in the near future can expect mitigation efforts and contact tracing to be ramped up, including ubiquitous health code and temperature checks, stringent mask policies, reduced capacity at popular tourist sites, and a strict appointment system for visiting those sites.

However, for the moment, the incident has yet to boost the city into the category of "Medium Risk," the list of which is currently populated only by areas of Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Sichuan, and Xinjiang. At present, there are no designated high-risk areas in China.

Similarly, more cases – both asymptomatic and symptomatic – continue to trickle into Beijing from abroad. For instance, on Nov 28, a 60-year-old man flew into Beijing Capital Airport from Hong Kong and was tested upon arriving at customs. That test turned up negative, and the man was then sent to a hotel for his requisite 14-day quarantine. He was then tested again, prior to being released from his quarantine, and that test came back positive. He has since been moved to Ditan Hospital. Likewise, a 31-year-old Henan-native flew from Pakistan to Beijing on Dec 11 and tested positive at customs. He too has been moved to Ditan Hospital for treatment and isolation.

Meanwhile, it has been 129 days since Beijing’s last local transmission.

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Images: seabourn.com