As the latest coronavirus outbreak in Dalian has continued to spread, the city in Liaoning province is further strengthening public health efforts to contain the spread, including by a program of testing for its nearly 7 million residents, the Chna Daily reports.
Ma Xiaowei, minister of the National Health Commission, who arrived in Dalian on Friday night said uncertainties remain and that intensified prevention and control efforts are needed as the epidemic is still at an early stage.
Strict epidemic prevention and control measures should apply to more groups, including putting the close contacts of confirmed patients' close contacts under isolation, with each one in a separate room at designated isolation sites, he said.
Meanwhile, more epidemic control and prevention measures should be imposed in residential compounds. Residents in medium-or high-risk areas should not leave the city, Ma said.
On Saturday, Dalian reported 12 new cases, raising the total to 24 since the outbreak began on Wednesday, according to city health authorities.
Tieling, another city in Liaoning, reported one new confirmed patient on Saturday: a 55-year-old woman who works at Dalian Kaiyang World Seafood Co, where the first confirmed case of this outbreak was reported on Wednesday. She left Dalian and arrived in Tieling on Tuesday, the Tieling health authority said on Sunday morning.
At least eight other cities and counties in northeast China-such as Changchun, Jilin province, and Hegang, Heilongjiang province-had reported asymptomatic infections transmitted from Dalian as of Sunday afternoon, according to provincial health authorities.
To further contain the spread of infections, Dalian has arranged for free nucleic acid tests for all residents, the city government said.
