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A deliveryman passes a package to a resident in Bayan county in Harbin. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 1:09pm, 30 Sep 2021Updated: 11:06pm, 30 Sep 2021

China’s northeastern Heilongjiang reported six symptomatic Covid-19 cases for Wednesday, the lowest number of new infections since the province’s outbreak started more than a week ago, according to the National Health Commission.

The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases for the province also dropped for the first time since infections ballooned from September 21.

The average is an indicator of whether the epidemic is worsening, and the decline raised hopes that infections may come under control before the week-long National Day holiday starts on Friday.

The centre of another outbreak, Fujian province in China’s southeast, reported no new cases for Wednesday, a first since local infections started on September 10. Daily reported symptomatic cases reached 61 at the peak of the Fujian cluster.

“The epidemic in Fujian province is generally under control. [The cities of] Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Putian did not report new cases in the past few days, and the outbreak in Xiamen is showing a sign of slowing,” NHC official Cui Gang said on Wednesday.

“Epidemic control in Heilongjiang is at a critical point and we are stepping up anti-epidemic measures.”

As with the previous three days, all six of the new Heilongjiang cases were identified in Harbin, the provincial capital.

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