Chinese officials told to get Delta outbreak under control before National Day holiday
- Harbin records 15 new cases in worst day of outbreak, while an overall decrease is reported in Fujian province
- Authorities are advising holidaymakers to avoid the affected areas, dampening hopes for the week-long break
There were 30 new locally transmitted cases recorded by the end of Thursday – 15 of them in Harbin, in the northeast province of Heilongjiang, and the rest in Fujian province on the southeast coast.
National Health Commission director Ma Xiaowei met officials in Heilongjiang on Friday, telling them to try to get the outbreak under control before the October 1 holiday begins. He said the situation was complicated and serious since there were still a lot of uncertainties around the outbreak.
Travellers are being told to avoid the affected areas, meaning the three cities are unlikely to reap the economic benefits of an influx of tourists during one of China’s biggest holiday weeks.
Cases in the Harbin cluster – which first emerged on Tuesday – have been identified as the highly transmissible Delta variant, according to the city government. All of the new Harbin infections were in Bayan county and identified during quarantine and citywide screening for the virus. The number was up from the previous day’s eight cases.
No deaths were reported and authorities have not linked the two clusters.