The young man, who went viral in China for reading Francis Fukuyama's Origins of Political Order at a Fang Cang hospital in Jianghan district, Wuhan,Central China's Hubei Province. Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

Authorities in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, reported a COVID-19 case on Monday whom showed no symptoms, forcing 177 people to be put into quarantine.

The man, surnamed Xu 43, is a worker in a local plastic products company. He was reported by a local hospital, according to the Hefei health commission's website.   

The company has suspended production to rectify itself according to the requirements of local authorities following its loose epidemic prevention and control work and failure to report workers having fevers in a timely manner, thepaper.cn reported Monday.

Test results of the 177 close contacts have turned out to be negative so far. The results on another 269 workers in the same factory where Xu works are also negative, said the commission. 

As of Sunday, 174 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in Hefei with one fatality. Among the patients, 147 have been cured and discharged from hospital. 

Global Times