East China province reports two confirmed COVID-19 cases

HEFEI, May 13 (Xinhua) -- East China's Anhui Province on Thursday reported two confirmed COVID-19 cases from two localities, local health authorities said.

The two new cases were reported from the city of Lu'an and Feixi County under the provincial capital Hefei.

One patient, a 29-year-old woman in Lu'an, tested positive for the novel coronavirus during a regular nucleic acid test of patients at a hospital and was later diagnosed as a confirmed case, the city's health commission said in a statement.

The other confirmed case was a 27-year-old woman who arrived in Feixi County on May 8 from an unspecified place outside Anhui, according to the county's health commission.

The two patients had close contact during a training section at a photo studio in Lu'an, the Lu'an health commission said.

A total of 178 people in close contact with the two have been placed under quarantine. The epidemiological investigation is underway.