China reports 1st UK COVID-19 variant case in Shanghai

December 31, 2020

Asia, Headlines

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According to a report from the China CDC Weekly published Wednesday, health authorities have reported the first case of the new variant COVID-19 originating in the United Kingdom:

On December 14, 2020, a 23-year-old female returning from the United Kingdom (UK) via airplane was tested by the laboratory of Shanghai Customs using nose swab to test for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). At 20:30 on December 14, Shanghai CDC received notification from the Shanghai Customs that the patient tested positive for COVID-19. By 22:00, the patient was transported by ambulance from the isolation point to the fever clinic of Jiading District Central Hospital. Due to travel history from the UK and abnormalities in nucleic acid test results, the hospital organized a consultation with experts and formed a recommendation to transfer the patient to Fudan University’s Public Health Clinical Center for further diagnosis and treatment, which was carried out the following day. On December 15, Jiading District CDC retested using a nasopharyngeal swab sample and the nucleic acid result was positive for COVID-19.

An epidemiological investigation revealed that the patient had a negative COVID-19 test result on December 12, 2020, two days before her flight to return to China. According to her statement, she had no exposure to symptomatic individuals and had not purchased or been exposed to frozen food products or raw meat. While remaining in the UK, the patient described running in a nearby park without wearing a mask and taking off her mask to eat and drink while waiting to board the plane. These are all potential situations for exposure, especially with 1.86 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 having been reported in the UK as of December 15, 2020. At the time of case report, the patient was diagnosed as a mild case according to the epidemiological investigation, symptoms and laboratory test.