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Residents register for nucleic acid testing at a test site in Quanzhou, after new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Fujian Province, China, on September 13, 2021. China Daily by REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA DEPARTURE.
BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Reuters) – More local COVID-19 infections have more than doubled in southeast China’s Fujian province, health officials said on Tuesday, forcing officials to implement quickly measures that included travel restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.
The National Health Commission said 59 new cases of local transmission were reported on Sept. 13, compared to 22 infections the day before. They were all in Fujian, a province bordering Zhejiang to the north and Guangdong to the south.
In just four days, a total of 102 community infections have been reported in three cities in Fujian, including Xiamen, a tourist and transportation hub with a population of 5 million.
Infections are ahead of the one-week National Day holiday that begins Oct. 1, a major tourist season. The latest domestic outbreak from late July to August disrupted travel and affected the tourism, hospitality and transport sectors.
The Fujian outbreak began in Putian, a city of 3.2 million, with the first case reported on 10 September. Preliminary tests on samples from some Putian cases showed that patients had contracted the highly transmissible Delta variant.
The virus has since spread south to Xiamen, which reported 32 new cases of community transmission on Sept. 13 compared to just one infection the day before.
“The Putian government is a big customer of ours,” said a staff member of a Xiamen building survey company, who declined to be appointed.
“About half of our company went to Putian last week. They are now isolated at home, while the rest have gone to do their Covid tests.”
CONFINITION
Like Putian, Xiamen has closed some high-risk areas for viruses, cut off offline classes in kindergartens, elementary schools and high schools, closed public places such as cinemas, gyms and bars, and told residents that do not leave the city for non-essential reasons. .
The first patient in the Xiamen cluster was a close contact of a case in Putian, Xiamen authorities reported Monday afternoon.
Known for its temperate climate and relaxed lifestyle, Xiamen is a popular tourist destination nationwide.
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is also a key transportation hub linking the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River. About 60 percent of flights to and from Xiamen were canceled on Tuesday, according to aviation data provider Variflight.
Both Putian and Xiamen began testing the city-wide coronavirus on Tuesday. However, cities have not yet announced city-wide blockades, as seen in early 2020 in China.
Three new cases of community transmission were also reported in the nearby city of Quanzhou, compared to six infections a day earlier. Variflight data showed that 70% of Quanzhou flights were canceled.
A district in Quanzhou, where many of the cases work or have visited Putian, has stopped bus services, closed some public places, suspended restaurants in restaurants and forced residents to avoid unnecessary travel outside the district.
“One wave after another,” a bank manager in Xiamen said. “It now feels like the new normal.”
Reports from Ryan Woo, Roxanne Liu, Kevin Huang, Stella Qiu, Yan Shen and Liangping Gao; edited by Stephen Coates and Michael Perry
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