A 75-year-old woman confirmed with COVID-19 in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Friday had contracted a mutated strain that had come from India, medical experts found after clinical studies and gene sequencing.
The patient, surnamed Guo, might have been exposed accidentally, a statement released by Guangzhou's Liwan district said on Monday.
The woman's husband, surnamed Lu, was confirmed positive on Sunday afternoon. It was his third test after his wife's positive test, the statement said. Lu was sent to Guangzhou No Eight People's Hospital, which is designated for COVID-19 patients, for further observation and treatment, it said.
Both Guo and Lu, who live in Liwan district's Longjin community, had been in Guangzhou for more than two weeks before they fell ill. They had not visited any areas of medium or high risk.
