A staff member disinfects corridor at a community in Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 29, 2020. Haidian District of Beijing has carried out disinfection work with the help of professional staff at residential communities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo: Xinhua

A man was detained for concealing traveling from Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and frequently joining village banquets, causing thousands to be quarantined. 

The man from Jinjiang, East China's Fujian Province concealed his travel history and went out multiple times for banquets with more than 3,000 others in late January. He was confirmed as having the novel coronavirus on Sunday. Another seven people have also been infected and more than 4,000 were quarantined, the Beijing News reported on Wednesday. 

He has been taken into police custody, while the exact number of people affected remains under investigation.

Similarly, a man in East China's Shandong Province surnamed Zhang deliberately hid his travel to Anhui Province, which borders Hubei, when he was seeing a doctor at a local hospital, which led to the quarantine of 68 medical personnel and 49 others after he was confirmed as having the novel coronavirus, according to a statement issued by the local police on Wednesday. 

Zhang has been isolated by the police. 

Analysts pointed out two motives for these people's behavior. 

"Practically speaking, they might not want to be isolated at home because they want to go out and run some errands,�?Pi Yijun, a psychologist at the China University of Political Science and Law, told Global Times on Wednesday.

"Another is the potential discrimination they might face from other people, which has been existing since the outbreak started,�?Pi said. 

Wuhan has been in the spotlight in recent days, and residents and travelers from there have been treated differently due to growing fears of the novel coronavirus, which is also considered discriminatory.

 "Discriminating is wrong. But it is not the reason for people to break the regulation. Hiding the truth could lead to more bad consequences," Pi noted. 

A survey conducted on Weibo showed that 90 percent of respondents support the idea of including the hiding of personal contact history on the credit blacklist during the national campaign to fight the novel coronavirus. A total of 95,000 users took the survey as of press time on Wednesday. 

The Minister of Public Security (MPS) requested public security organs at all levels to probe illegal and criminal activities that cause trouble and sabotage social order, according to the MPS website on Tuesday. People who intentionally disturb the prevention work of the epidemic also face detention.  

In South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a person is suspected of spitting on a paper towel and then rubbing it on the button of an elevator at a residential building, as shown in a surveillance video posted on Tuesday. Police have placed him under custody, according to the local authority's statement on Wednesday.