Experts close in on origins of Hebei cases

Taking precaution: A resident scanning a QR code held by a volunteer at the gate of a residential compound in Xinle, following an outbreak of Covid-19 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. — Reuters

Beijing: Experts estimate that patient zero, the first patient in the Hebei province coronavirus outbreak recently, would have been infected before Dec 15, based on gene sequencing and an epidemiological survey.

“The risk of further spreading (the virus) still exists, and the work to trace its origins are underway, ” Shi Jian, head of the Hebei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s emergency management office, said on Sunday, adding that the outbreak still hasn’t reached a peak.