Shanghai airport worker becomes latest COVID-19 case

Shanghai reported one new locally transmitted COVID-19 case on Monday.

Wu Jinglei, director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said that case, a 29-year-old man who works at the cargo area of Shanghai Pudong International Airport, visited a fever clinic on Sunday after developing a fever. He was confirmed to be infected with the virus on Monday after his nucleic acid test result turned out to be abnormal.

People working in roles that possess a high risk of contracting the virus must undergo nucleic acid tests twice a week. The man tested negative during routine testing on Thursday.

As of 1 pm on Monday, the 96 close contacts, 189 secondary close contacts, and more than 6,200 individuals related to the case were tracked down in the city. Each of them tested negative for the virus.

A section of a village in Fengcheng town of Fengxian district where the man lives has been classified as a medium-risk zone.

Zhao Haibo, vice-president of Shanghai Airport Authority, said that the airport is operating as usual despite the incident.

"The airport will continue to implement preventive measures and ensure that the section and workers for cargo and passenger flights are separated," she said.

Wu said the city has been placed under constant pressure because of imported cases but the authorities have adequate medical resources and manpower to handle the situation.

Wu noted that 159 cases in Shanghai had recovered and were discharged over the past four days.