A man surnamed Wang who works in a hotel assigned for quarantine travelers was detected with COVID-19 in Huadu district in Guangzhou, provincial capital of Guangdong, on Thursday.

Local experts believe Wang, 40, might have been infected with COVID-19 by imported asymptomatic patients in the district's Furong Resort, according to a statement released by Guangzhou Huadu District Health Commission on Friday.

Wang has been sent to Guangzhou No 8 People's Hospital, a designated hospital for COVID-19 patients in the southern metropolis, for treatment, said the statement.

He is in stable condition and has no symptoms, the statement said.

Wang reported negative result in his nucleic acid testing on Oct 5, but his nucleic acid testing result came out positive in the latest routine test conducted on Oct 15, said the statement.

Wang was diagnosed as an asymptomatic patient on Friday.

By Friday noon, a total of 68 people who have had close contact with Wang were isolated for further medical observation, said the statement.

And of them, 66 contacts have negative results in nucleic acid testing, while testing results of the two had not come out by Friday noon, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Huadu district government has launched a further investigation on the venues and public places where Wang worked and visited.

And according to a statement released by Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, the southern province, one of the major front line areas in prevention and control of people with COVID-19 infection entering the country, reported two new imported cases, respectively from the Philippines and Syria, and another three new cases of asymptomatic patients from abroad on Thursday.

The new imported asymptomatic patients include two from Iran and one from Iraq, the statement said.

At the end of Thursday, Guangdong province, known as the southern gateway of the country, has reported with a total of 1,875 COVID-19 patients, including 479 imported cases.

Now 36 COVID-19 patients are still hospitalized for treatment in the province.