PARIS:
A Chinese tourist from Wuhan who said she evaded health checks at customs and successfully entered France has claimed to be free of coronavirus symptoms, according to the Chinese embasssy in France.
In a notice posted on Friday (Jan 24), the embassy said that they followed up on the situation after being alerted to the woman's social media posts the day before.
"On Jan 23, the Chinese embassy called Ms Yan again to inquire about her current situation," said the embassy.
"She says that for the past few days, she has been taking her temperature regularly, and she now has no symptoms of fever and cough."
The embassy also said that Ms Yan claims to have been told by French medical services that without symptoms of fever and pain, she does not need to be examined.
No details of Ms Yan's whereabouts or her travel details were released.
The woman, named by the embassy as Ms Yan, claimed that she had symptoms of fever and cough, but managed to pass health checks at airport customs after she took antipyretics to bring her body temperature down.
"In the city of good food, so of course I had to eat a Michelin meal," she said in her Weibo post.
"Had a cough and low fever when I was about to leave, scared me to death, so immediately ate medicine and kept measuring my body temperature.
"Luckily, body temperature went down and had no problems leaving and entering."
Accompanying her Weibo post were photos of the woman and her friends at a French restaurant.
The embassy on Thursday acknowledged that they had received calls and emails from several Chinese citizens reporting the woman's Weibo post, and said that they contacted Ms Yan on Jan 22 to instruct her to contact emergency services in France.
The virus has killed 25 people in China and infected more than 800, the Chinese government said on Friday.
The majority of the victims who died were elderly individuals with pre-existing health conditions, such as diabetes and liver cirrhosis.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/wuhan-virus-france-tourist-evade-customs-12324556