Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Chinese police have identified a man dubbed the ‘Virus King’ who ignored quarantine rules despite working just five minutes away from where the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak began and who then infected nine people including his wife.
It is reportedly not yet possible to arrest the man at the moment because of his infected status, but Xingbin District People’s Procuratorate, in the city of Laibin in South China’s Guangxi region, has already approved an arrest warrant for Mr Wei, 43, on 17th February.
He is to be charged with crimes against the prevention of infectious diseases – the first such indictment in Labin – for allegedly infecting nine of the city’s 11 confirmed COVID-19 patients.
On 23rd January, Mr Wei fled the Huanan Fruit Wholesale Market in Wuhan where he works after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus grew out of control, prosecutors said.
The fruit market is just 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) – a five-minute walk – from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market where the COVID-19 outbreak is thought to have started.
However, after returning to Labin, Mr Wei failed to adhere to the city’s disease-prevention guidelines which included the obligation to self-quarantine himself, exposing those around him to the coronavirus.
On 25th January, staff members in his residential community learned of his travel history and advised him to self-isolation in order to avoid becoming a public health risk.
But officials say Mr Wei not only failed to carry out the order, he also repeatedly left his home to visit public spaces and had close contact with more 300 people, 120 of whom have now been quarantined.
Among the nine people Mr Wei alleged infected are his own wife, as well as two as yet unnamed children aged three months and one year.
Prosecutors said Mr Wei was the sole cause of a “partial city lockdown”, which has come at “serious cost to public resources”.
The gated community where Mr Wei and his wife live has also been put on lockdown.
It was not immediately clear when the man dubbed the ‘Virus King’ in reports will be taken into custody given his status as a confirmed COVID-19 patient.
The Wuhan coronavirus has so far killed 2,010 people worldwide, all but six cases in mainland China.
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