As of 24:00 March 31st, Guangdong had reported 10 new imported COVID-19 cases, with 9 in Guangzhou (3 from the US, 2 from in Nigeria, and 1 from the Philippines, Malaysia, the UK, and Angola respectively), 1 in Foshan (from the US). A total of 148 imported cases were reported across the province.

1 new domestic case was reported in Shenzhen. The patient returned to Shenzhen from Hubei Province.

Submit health declaration forms at Shenzhen airport. (Photo: Lu Li)

China will release a daily report on asymptomatic cases starting today, April 1st.

According to the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 1 new asymptomatic case was reported in Shenzhen on March 31st. As of 24:00 March 31st, Guangdong had reported 50 asymptomatic cases, among which 38 are individuals returning to China.

Asymptomatic cases refer to those whose test samples are positive for the novel coronavirus, the patient meanwhile showing no symptoms like fever, cough or sore throat. At present, all Guangdong’s asymptomatic cases are undergoing medical observation.

At a national level, as of 24:00 March 31st, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps had reported 35 imported cases and 1 domestic case. There were 130 new asymptomatic cases across the whole country, and 1367 people with asymptomatic infections are now under medical observation.

More details about Guangzhou

As of 24:00 March 31st, Guangzhou had reported 88 imported cases in total, of whom 66 are of Chinese nationality and 22 are expats. Most of them are students or people engaged in business. 11 asymptomatic cases were found among the city’s inbound travellers, who were immediately sent to the Eighth People’s Hospital of Guangzhou for observation in quarantine. 7 of them have since been discharged from hospital.

The city has currently set up three quarantine check steps.

Firstly, all inbound travellers should undergo 14-day quarantine for medical observation at designated venues after arrival. Closed-loop management will be guaranteed in the process of entry, transfer and observation.

Secondly, in terms of epidemic control in the community, starting from 0:00 March 8th, all travellers entering via Guangzhou port (except from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), or travellers entering Guangzhou from other cities and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan with foreign travel or residency history in the past 14 days, should be quarantined at home or at designated venues, irrespective of their nationality.

Thirdly, hospitals have begun nucleic acid testing for people with foreign travel or residency history, those returning to Guangzhou from Hubei province and all hospitalized patients.

More details about Shenzhen

According to Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission, 1 asymptomatic case was reported on March 31st. The patient returned to Shenzhen from Hubei Province. Currently, 15 asymptomatic cases are under observation, among which 9 are from outside the Chinese mainland.

Author： Hannah, Zoey (intern)

Editor: Olivia, Nan, Simon