HOHHOT, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The border city of Manzhouli, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, reported 34 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, local authorities said.
So far, the city has reported a total of 73 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases. All the cases are under treatment in a local designated hospital, according to a press briefing.
As of Tuesday noon, a total of 2,740 close contacts and 1,410 secondary close contacts had been placed under medical observation at designated locations.
Health authorities in Manzhouli have found 15 positive cases among 154,084 samples collected in the second-round city-wide nucleic acid testing. The city started the third-round testing at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
The latest outbreak in Manzhouli was initially believed to be caused by coronavirus on imported goods, Wang Tao, vice mayor and head of the public security department of Manzhouli, told the press briefing.
To prevent further infections, the railway authorities in the border city starting Wednesday will temporarily suspend the imports of goods, including timber, coal, fertilizers, and farm produce, which are not carried in containers, and need human labor to unload. Enditem
