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Workers in protective clothing deliver food to residents locked down in Guangzhou. Photo: Reuters

Covid-19 in China: Guangdong officials strike upbeat tone over latest outbreak

  • Officials say that the situation is ‘moving in a good direction’ but further cases cannot yet be ruled out as the province battles the Delta strain
  • Two districts of the provincial capital Guangzhou remain in lockdown, but no new cases were reported in neighbouring cities such as Shenzhen and Foshan
Health officials in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong signalled on Friday that the battle against the current Covid-19 outbreak may have turned a corner.

Guangzhou’s first known patient, a 75-year-old woman from the hard-hit Liwan district, was discharged from hospital on Thursday, but nine new cases were added on Friday – bringing the total tally to 128, including seven asymptomatic carriers.

By Friday, only two neighbourhoods in the hard-hit Liwan district remained under lockdown as the city tries to stop the spread of the highly infectious Delta strain, which first emerged in India.

Xu Qingfeng, deputy head of the Guangdong Health Commission, told a press conference that no new cases have been found in cities such as Shenzhen, Foshan and Maoming, and the new cases discovered in Guangzhou came from the locked down areas.

“The epidemic situation in Guangzhou is easing and moving in a good direction, but the possibility of sporadic cases cannot be ruled out,” Xu said.

Coronavirus: Guangzhou puts power of city and science resources behind massive testing programme

He said Guangzhou has administered 32 million tests with a further 10 million carried out in Foshan to screen out hidden carriers.

Chen Bin, a spokeswoman for the Guangzhou Health Commission, warned that the city must not take any chances by relaxing prevention and control measures ahead of this weekend’s three-day Dragon Boat Festival.

“The current prevention and control requirements are meant to reduce the movement of people and lower the risk of the spread of the disease,” said Chen. “Hence, all businesses, especially those in areas considered high-risk, must strictly follow the measures, especially during the holiday.

“We cannot let down our guard.”

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Chinese students with Covid-19 take university entrance exam in hospital isolation ward

Chinese students with Covid-19 take university entrance exam in hospital isolation ward

Heaven Hong, who lives in the Heyuan community in Liwan, one of the two locked down areas in Guangzhou, spent her 40th birthday in quarantine on Wednesday.

She has been in home quarantine since late May and was transferred to a hotel on Monday after confirmed cases were found in her building. “The hotel room is spacious and clean, and it is fine for just one person,” she said.

But Hong was worried that her stay at the hotel may be short-lived because a passenger who shared the same bus with her during the Monday transfer has tested positive for the coronavirus – meaning she would be considered a close contact.

Guangzhou tightens Covid-19 controls as mass tests expose more cases

“I know about the risk [of the transfer] and I just pray that I will not be sent to hospital for isolation,” she added.

“Occasionally, I get anxious because there are new cases and bad news. I don’t know when I can go back to my normal life and a lot of work has been delayed,” said the social worker.

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