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SHANGHAI: The recent COVID-19 outbreaks in northeast China stem from travelers entering the country or from imports of contaminated frozen food, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday (January 16).
NHC Minister Ma Xiaowei made the remarks at a government meeting, where he also said that the virus was spreading to rural areas and that the handling of the recent situation had exposed how prevention and control measures had been relaxed. .
“Since December 2020, epidemic groups have occurred in Beijing, Sichuan, Liaoning, Hebei and Heilongjiang,” said a statement posted on the NHC website citing Ma’s report.
“They mainly have the following characteristics. First, they are all imported from abroad, caused by travelers from abroad, or items imported from the cold chain that are contaminated.”
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The total number of cases is still well below what China saw at the height of the outbreak in early 2020, but concerns about a new wave are rising with the Chinese New Year a month from now.
This increase comes as a team of researchers led by the World Health Organization (WHO) is in quarantine in the city of Wuhan, where the disease was first detected in late 2019.The team aims to investigate the origins of the pandemic that has now killed 2 people. millions of people around the world.
READ: COVID-19: WHO-led team in China to start online meetings from quarantine
China is the only country that claims that COVID-19 can be transmitted through cold chain imports, even though the WHO has downplayed the risks and been pushing a narrative through state media that the The virus existed abroad before it was discovered late last year in the central city of Wuhan.
The country has seen in the last week the number of daily cases jump to a maximum of more than 10 months, and by January 15, 130 new cases of coronavirus were reported on the continent, compared to 144 cases the day before.
Of those cases, 115 were local infections, 90 of which occurred in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, which has been hit hardest in the latest wave.
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Another 23 cases were found in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, while two cases were reported in Beijing. The authority also reported that 79 new asymptomatic patients were found on January 15, which it does not classify as confirmed cases, compared to 66 the day before.
Around 28 million people have been blocked so far as a result, and Ma said the latest outbreak had spread rapidly due to activities such as wedding receptions or large group gatherings, and that it was difficult to control because community transmission had already occurred. when cases were discovered.
Beijing will begin requiring foreign travelers to undergo health checks for an additional seven days after 21 days of medical observation, Xinhua reported on Saturday, citing authorities, but did not provide details on the health check requirement. The city extended its quarantine period for inbound travelers to 21 days earlier this month.
Earlier, Xinhua warned in a comment that government officials should not “cry wolf” and declare too quickly that they are entering “war mode”, saying it could increase unnecessary panic and affect normal production.
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China is now 88,118, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,635.
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