Tibet reports 1 confirmed novel coronavirus case

The Tibet autonomous region reported one confirmed case of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, the first in the region, according to local authorities.

Tibet is the last region in China to report cases of the novel coronavirus.

The region on Wednesday activated the highest level of public health alert, and it became the last region on the mainland to activate the Level-I alert of public health incidents.

The region's health authorities reported the first suspected case of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, and the case was sent to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation immediately.

The patient surnamed Zhang, 34, is a male resident of Suizhou, Hubei province. He took a train for two days and arrived at Lhasa on Jan 24 via the Wuchang station in the Hubei provincial capital.

On Jan 25, he was admitted to a local designated hospital for isolation and treatment, according to a statement from local health authorities.

Zhang was confirmed as having a case of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, following medical tests by the region's center for disease control and prevention and confirmation of the results by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention afterwards, as well as based on diagnostic features of the patient and the judgment of the region's experts.

Currently, Zhang is under medication in the region's designated hospital, and he is in stable condition, and those who made close contact with the patient have been isolated and are under medical observation.

In order to avoid further disease transmission, Lhasa health authorities have spread out statements on various social media networks to try to trace all passengers who took the same trains with the patient between the period of Jan 22 and 24.

According to the statement, Zhang took the Z264 train from Wuchang in Wuhan province at 11 pm on Jan 22, and he arrived in Xining of Qinghai province at 7:11 pm on Jan 23. At 7:31 pm on Jan 23, he took the Z265 train from Xining, and he arrived in Lhasa at 4:45 pm on Jan 24.

According to the statement, the trains the patient took stopped at 13 stations during the period, including Guangzhou, Chenzhou, Changsha, Wuchang, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xining, Delingha, Golmud, Amdo, Nagchu and Lhasa.

Any passengers who had the experience of taking the same train as the patient are reminded to isolate themselves for two weeks, go to hospitals if they show any potential symptoms of the disease, wear masks all the time, avoid taking public transportation, and call 12345 to report their contacts, place of residence and hotel information.