A medical worker with the Hanyang district center of disease control takes a throat swab sample for a COVID-19 nucleic acid test from a construction worker on Thursday in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. The tests will enhance public health security as the city resumes production. Photo: cnsphoto

 The people's procuratorate of Shunyi district in Beijing has approved the arrest of a woman suspected of obstructing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases after she developed symptoms of COVID-19 while in the US and concealed them by taking antipyretics before boarding her flight to China. 

The Beijing's people's procuratorate published the statement on Tuesday and said the arrest was approved on Monday.

Beijing reported the confirmed case imported from the US on March 13. Li, a 37-year-old woman and a longtime Massachusetts resident, had developed symptoms while in the US and took antipyretics before boarding her flight to China. She did not disclose her symptoms until two hours before landing.

Li and her family have been living in the US for several years.

On March 1, Li began to develop fever and other symptoms, and did not improve despite making several visits to local hospitals. One of Li's colleagues was diagnosed with COVID-19.

On March 11, a local hospital conducted a nucleic acid test on Li.

Before the result of the test came out, Li, her husband and their young son took a flight from Boston to Los Angeles and returned to China.

In order to successfully board the plane, Li took an antipyretic to lower her body temperature.

After boarding the plane, Li did not take the initiative to truthfully report her fever and other symptoms, and did not truthfully answer the flight attendants' questions about the epidemic.

On March 13, Li arrived in Beijing and was confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus, and more than 60 people who had come into close contact with her were quarantined.

On March 16, Li's husband was confirmed to be infected.

US company Biogen on March 19 told a reporter with the Southern Metropolis Daily that its employee, Li, had been dismissed as she had made a personal decision to travel to China without informing the company and in defiance of guidelines from health experts, and her behavior had been inconsistent with the company's values.

Global Times