Coronavirus: Chinese authorities to test six million residents in Dalian after new cluster emerges
- Authorities plan to test all those living in the port within days
- A cluster of cases linked to a seafood processing company emerged in the northeastern city last week
Dalian, a port in Liaoning province with a population of over six million people, confirmed 12 new cases of local origin and 14 asymptomatic cases on Saturday. Dalian’s cluster of infections was first reported on Wednesday, when a 58-year-old man working at a seafood processing company tested positive.
Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission, led a team to Dalian on Friday night to guide the containment measures. As of Saturday, the contagion link from the city’s cluster had extended to seven other cities in four provinces, mostly asymptomatic case.
Ma said the city should aim to complete nucleic acid testing, all costs to be covered by the government, within four days, according to a statement released by the National Health Commission on Sunday.
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China to test six million residents in port city of Dalian after new coronavirus cluster emerges
As most of the confirmed and asymptomatic cases are related to the seafood company, Dalian has put all of the firm’s employees and their close contacts under the 14-day quarantine, which will be expanded to cover more possible close contacts.
China reported 35 local infections cases on Saturday, 22 in the northwest region of Xinjiang, which reported cluster infections earlier this month, and 13 in Liaoning province – 12 of which were in Dalian.