Two more COVID-19 cases confirmed in N China's Hebei

North China's Hebei province confirmed two more COVID-19 cases on Saturday morning as of 10 am, increasing its total confirmed cases to 139 and asymptomatic carriers at 197, Duan Yunbo, deputy head of the Health Commission of Hebei, said on Saturday afternoon during the province's second provincial-level press conference on epidemic control.

The first confirmed case in the provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, a 61-year-old woman detected on Jan 2, was not the first to contract COVID-19 in Hebei, Shi Jian, head of the Hebei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention's emergency management office, said in an interview with China Central Television.

"Investigation showed 'patient zero' was infected earlier, but it's still not clear which one it is," he said.

For its origin, Shi added it's very likely the virus was imported from the international airport near the villages in Shijiazhuang's Gaocheng district .

The Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport is less than 10 kilometers away from the villages.

"Some villagers work at hotels or other places close to the airport," Shi said, adding both imported objects and people have the possibility of being the infection source.

The infection in Hebei has no relation to outbreaks in other places in the country, based on an earlier survey, including gene sequencing, antibody detection and big data screening, Shi said.

Among the confirmed cases, there are seven patients with severe symptoms, all of whom are senior citizens, with the eldest being 89 years old, Duan said. They had other diseases before contracting COVID-19, like high blood pressure and diabetes. Patients also include five children, with the youngest being three years old, he added.

Among the asymptomatic carriers, the eldest is 91 years old, and there are 40 children, with the youngest being just one year old, Duan said.