Coronavirus: flights cancelled after cluster of cases at Chinese airport
- More than a dozen cleaners at Nanjing’s main air hub test positive for the coronavirus
- City prepares to test all of its 9 million residents; urges people to not leave the municipality
Health authorities in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said routine testing detected the coronavirus in samples from nine cleaners at Nanjing Lukou International Airport, prompting tests on more staff.
In total, authorities found nine Covid-19 cases and five asymptomatic infections, while three positive samples were awaiting further diagnosis.
“The 17 patients are cleaners in the airport … who mainly work in the airport and on planes, so it is more likely that the infections are related to imported cases,” Nanjing Health Commission director Fang Zhongyou said, adding that health authorities were still tracing the source of the cluster.
Authorities said the city was preparing to launch mass testing for its 9 million residents. Swabs had been taken from 116,500 people living near the airport and 40 per cent of the tests had been processed, with none yet returning positive.