Medical workers take turns to have supper at a nucleic acid testing spot in Shangpai Township of Feixi County in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, May 16, 2021. Many communities in Shangpai Township have launched the second round of nucleic acid tests for all residents in the wake of the new COVID-19 infections. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)
HEFEI/SHENYANG, May 16 (Xinhua) -- East China's Anhui Province and northeast China's Liaoning Province have stepped up contact tracing and mass testing in efforts to contain the latest COVID-19 resurgence.
Health authorities in Anhui, where seven confirmed locally transmitted cases and seven asymptomatic carriers had been reported by Sunday noon, said all recent infections are related to an offline training session at a photo studio in Yu'an District of Lu'an City.
The cases so far are either session participants, studio employees, customers, or their close contacts, according to the provincial health commission.
Anhui on Thursday reported its first confirmed case in the recent COVID-19 resurgence, a 29-year-old female from Lu'an. As of Sunday noon, Lu'an had reported five of the seven confirmed cases in the province, while the other two emerged in the provincial capital of Hefei. All seven asymptomatic cases in Anhui were reported from Lu'an.
Gene sequencing analysis conducted by the provincial center for disease control and prevention found the coronavirus behind the cases were not the highly infectious mutant strains found in India and South Africa.
Epidemiologists are still working to determine the "patient zero," said Dong Mingpei, deputy head of the provincial health commission.
The cities of Lu'an and Hefei have both launched citywide nucleic acid tests in the wake of the new infections. As of Sunday noon, nearly 1 million people in Lu'an and about 170,000 people in Hefei tested negative for the novel coronavirus.
Experts have basically ruled out the possibility of mass infections in Anhui, Dong said.
Meanwhile, the second round of mass testing covering all 500,000 people in Bayuquan District, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province was launched on Sunday. The district reported the majority of Liaoning's recent new cases.
As of 7 p.m. Sunday, Liaoning had reported nine confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the latest virus resurgence, of which three were reported on Sunday.
According to the Yingkou municipal epidemic prevention and control headquarters, a confirmed case recently identified in Anhui had been treated in a clinic in Bayuquan District due to a sore throat, and the doctor who treated the case was later reported as an asymptomatic case.
Bayuquan District Sunday closed all educational institutions and private clinics over infection concerns.
The National Health Commission has dispatched a working group to guide the COVID-19 prevention and control efforts in Liaoning, the commission said Sunday. Enditem
Medical workers collect samples at a nucleic acid testing spot in Shangpai Township of Feixi County in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, May 16, 2021. Many communities in Shangpai Township have launched the second round of nucleic acid tests for all residents in the wake of the new COVID-19 infections. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)
A medical worker collects sample at a nucleic acid testing spot in Shangpai Township of Feixi County in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, May 16, 2021. Many communities in Shangpai Township have launched the second round of nucleic acid tests for all residents in the wake of the new COVID-19 infections. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)
A medical worker collects sample at a nucleic acid testing spot in Shangpai Township of Feixi County in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, May 16, 2021. Many communities in Shangpai Township have launched the second round of nucleic acid tests for all residents in the wake of the new COVID-19 infections. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)
Medical workers collect samples for nucleic acid testing in Bayuquan District, Yingkou City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, May 16, 2021. As of 8 p.m. Sunday, a total of nine confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and six asymptomatic cases were reported in Liaoning during the recent COVID-19 resurgence. (Xinhua)
Medical workers record information of citizens at the entrance of a testing site in Yingkou City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, May 16, 2021. As of 8 p.m. Sunday, a total of nine confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and six asymptomatic cases were reported in Liaoning during the recent COVID-19 resurgence. (Xinhua)
A medical worker collects sample from a senior citizen for nucleic acid testing at a nursing center in Hongqi Town of Yingkou City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, May 16, 2021. As of 8 p.m. Sunday, a total of nine confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and six asymptomatic cases were reported in Liaoning during the recent COVID-19 resurgence. (Xinhua)
A medical worker collects a swab sample from a student at a school in Shangpai Township of Feixi County in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, May 17, 2021. As of Sunday noon, nearly 1.14 million people in Anhui's medium- and high-risk areas tested negative for the novel coronavirus. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)
A medical worker collects a swab sample from a student at a school in Shangpai Township of Feixi County in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, May 17, 2021. As of Sunday noon, nearly 1.14 million people in Anhui's medium- and high-risk areas tested negative for the novel coronavirus. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)
