A former associate director of a US biotechnology company is facing up to seven years in prison in China after hiding her coronavirus symptoms and flying from Los Angeles to Beijing in hopes of receiving treatment.
The Chinese national gobbled down anti-fever medicine at LAX to suppress her high temperatures before boarding the 13-hour flight back to her homeland with her husband and son, Chinese authorities said.
The mother-of-one, 37, claimed to have been denied the coronavirus test three times by American doctors before resorting to the drastic measure last week, health officials in Beijing revealed.
A woman (not the one pictured) is facing criminal charges after flying from the US to China to receive coronavirus treatment. Pictured, travelers wearing face masks and protective jackets walk in an almost empty arrivals area at the Capital International Airport in Beijing on March 17
The 37-year-old mother-of-one, a Chinese national, is said to be a former associated director at Biogen, a multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
She was diagnosed with the coronavirus hours after landing in Beijing last Friday, said the Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control. Her husband, a 37-year-old university lecturer, tested positive on Monday.
Police are investigating her on suspicion of preventing the control of infectious diseases.
The criminal charge carries a maximum prison term of seven years if ‘the consequences are particularly serious’, according to the Chinese criminal law.
The woman, known by her surname Li, reportedly lives in Belmont, a western suburb of Boston, with her husband, who is also a Chinese citizen.
A spokesperson from the Beijing health authority said that, according to Ms. Li, she fell ill after attending a company meeting.
She said she developed fevers as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) after one of her colleagues had tested positive.
The woman, known by her surname Li, took Air China flight CA988 to travel to Beijing from Los Angeles on March 12 with her husband and their son. She claimed to have been denied the coronavirus test three times by American doctors before resorting to the drastic measures
Beijing police, who are probing the woman, said she took anti-fever medicine before boarding her plane and then failed to inform the flight attendants of her health condition with honesty
Ms. Li is said to be the former associate director of bio-statistics for Biogen, a multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
But according to the Boston Globe, Ms. Li did not attend the Biogen conference in Boston in late February but came into contact with someone who was there.
Nearly 100 coronavirus cases have been connected to that conference, the report said.
Ms. Li told Chinese officials that she started to experience a series of coronavirus symptoms, including chills, fevers, coughs and runny nose, from March 1.
She went to a local hospital on March 3 and was given anti-viral medication. She underwent X-ray checks of her lungs during two subsequent visits to the same hospital and the results showed no abnormality.
But on March 11 when she visited the hospital again, her scan indicated she had pneumonia.
Ms. Li said the hospital refused to admit her.
This week, Hong Kong International Airport reported its busiest day on record for private jet activity, according to the Financial Times. The above picture shows mask-donning travellers walking into the arrival hall of Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong on Thursday
The Hong Kong government has required all international arrivals to be quarantined for 14 days starting from Thursday. In the picture above, a traveller is seen wearing a face mask and a plastic shield in the arrival hall of Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong
She also claimed that she had applied to take coronavirus tests three times in the US, but all of her applications had been rejected.
To receive further treatment, Ms. Li took Air China flight CA988 to travel to Beijing from Los Angeles on March 12.
Beijing police said that Ms. Li took anti-fever medicine before boarding her plane and then failed to inform the flight attendants of her health condition with honesty.
The Chinese woman (not the one pictured) flew 13 hours from Los Angeles to Beijing to seek coronavirus treatment, officials said. Pictured, passengers wearing face masks and raincoats walk through a nearly empty departure hall at Beijing Capital International Airport on March 9
During the flight, she told flight attendants that she suffered from low blood pressure and stewards arranged her to sit at the back of the cabin.
Upon her arrival in Beijing, she was taken to the hospital, together with her husband and son, after claiming to suffer fevers, muscle weakness, and coughs on her health declaration card.
The police are investigating her while she and her husband, Mr. Hong, are receiving treatment in quarantine.
Their son had no symptoms, according to the latest briefing from Beijing.
A total of 59 people have been quarantined in China after coming into close contact with Ms. Li, the police said.
A vendor pushes his food cart down an empty street near Times Square in New York on Sunday
Cities around China are cracking down on in-bounding travelers who may carry the virus. In the picture, a pedestrian wearing a face mask stops in Times Square in New York on March 12
Biogen confirmed that Ms. Li used to be an employee in its US offices.
In a statement to MailOnline, the company said that Ms. Li ‘made the personal decision to travel to China without informing the company and ignoring the guidance of health experts. She is no longer an employee of Biogen.’
It added: ‘We are deeply dismayed by the situation as reported by the media in China. ‘
It remains unclear if Ms. Li was sacked or quit by herself.
Two medical workers are pictured bidding a farewell on March 19 in Wuhan, Hubei Province. China today has reported zero domestic cases of coronavirus for the second day in a row
Passengers are seen arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China
China today reported no new domestic cases of coronavirus for the second day in a row, but the number of imported infections has risen to 228.
Statistics show infected travelers to China have spread to ever more provinces, adding pressure on authorities to toughen entry rules and health protocols.
Cities around China have clamped down on potential imported cases after overseas Chinese flocked back to their homeland to evade the coronavirus pandemic.
An Australian-Chinese woman was deported by China this week after ignoring quarantine orders and insisting to jog outdoors.
The airports in Shanghai have recently intensified the level of coronavirus checks, particularly for passengers traveling from high-risk countries.
As concern grows over infected arrivals from overseas, the foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea held a video conference on Friday to discuss cooperation to rein in the pandemic. The picture shows China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (middle) giving a speech
All passengers flying into Shanghai from 20 coronavirus-infected countries will be quarantined or self-isolated for 14 days from today, according to reports.
The Hong Kong government has required all international arrivals – except for those from mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan – to be quarantined for 14 days starting from Thursday.
Across the border from the Asian financial hub, officials in Shenzhen have demanded Chinese citizens returning from abroad be isolated at home or in quarantine camps for 14 days. International travelers who have been to high-risk countries, such as South Korea, Italy, and Iran, 14 days before their entrance must also obey the rule.