Chinese quarantined after Iran flight

A total of 164 Chinese citizens onboard China Southern Airlines flight CZ3004 arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan province, from Iran on Wednesday, the Chengdu Health Commission said.

Employees from Chengdu Customs took the temperature of all people onboard.

None of the passengers had a fever, but 21 reported coughs or other respiratory symptoms, the city's health commission said.

They were transferred by special ambulance to a designated hospital for further screening, and the other 143 passengers were transferred to a designated hotel in the Shuangliu district of Chengdu near the airport.

They will be quarantined in the hotel for 14 days, the commission said.

An official with the commission said only a small number of passengers are Chengdu locals.

Most are Chinese citizens from different parts of the country, she said.

All the passengers were flown to Chengdu through an arrangement by the central government, said the official, who asked not to be named.

People from the local center for disease control and prevention along with airport staff disinfected the aircraft and the vehicles transporting passengers. The aircraft crew also went through health checks and returned to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where China Southern Airlines is headquartered, the health commission said.

While some Chengdu residents may be concerned about the passengers' arrival, the anonymous official from the city's health authority said that panic is unnecessary because Sichuan province has done a good job in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, and not a single case of coronavirus-caused pneumonia from overseas has been reported.

By Wednesday, there were 539 confirmed cases of coronavirus-caused pneumonia in Sichuan.

Among them, 484 people have been discharged from hospitals, 52 are still in hospital and three have died.

According to data from the city's health commission, there were only 144 confirmed cases of coronavirus-caused pneumonia in Chengdu by Wednesday. Among them, 103 had been discharged from hospitals.