More than 3 million people have been tested on the first day (Oct. 12) of a citywide outbreak in Qingdao, the epicenter of China’s new wave of epidemics, and of the 1.1 million samples with results already available, local authorities say no new infections have yet been found.
However, the Qingdao Municipal Health Commission reported Tuesday (Oct. 13) that six new cases had been reported on the 12th. A total of 144 close contacts have been identified, all of whom are under centralized quarantine observation and sampling for testing. Apparently, the testing of close contacts is not included in the scope of the mass investigation.
At noon Monday, the city of Qingdao had placed 132 close contacts under centralized isolation for observation, of whom 9 tested positive.
In addition, 207 close contacts of close contacts, all of whom were placed under centralized isolation observation and sampled for testing, tested negative. Of the 859 general contacts, all completed nucleic acid testing, and all tested negative.
China’s National Health Commission reported Tuesday that there have been 13 new cases nationwide in the past 24 hours, including seven cases from outside the country and six local cases, all in Shandong province. It’s unclear if the six cases refer to the six new cases in Qingdao. China’s practice of counting cases has been questioned.
The outbreak in Qingdao occurred on October 10, when three asymptomatic cases were detected. Three cases of asymptomatic infection were detected that day, and all were traced to the city’s chest hospital. Possible infections include patients, their companions, and their close contacts at the hospital.
The number of new cases nationwide, released Tuesday by the National Health Commission, is 30, with 13 symptomatic and 17 asymptomatic cases. This compares with 11 cases of indigenous infections, both symptomatic and asymptomatic. The rest were imported from abroad.
Currently, China has a total of 85,591 confirmed cases and 4,634 deaths. Chinese authorities do not provide data on the cumulative number of asymptomatic cases, which is generally estimated to be in the thousands.
Prior to the Qingdao backlash, there had been no cases of domestic infection in China for nearly two months on the official outbreak bulletin. Restrictions against the epidemic were gradually eased throughout China, allowing people to return to work and travel. It is believed that this outbreak backlash is directly related to the national tourism during the National Day holiday. There have been reports of large music festivals held in Qingdao during China’s National Day.
Nucleic acid testing proposed by the cities of Yantai and Jinan, Shandong province, was extended to people returning from Qingdao since September 23. Observers say this is an indication that the outbreak in Qingdao may have started before the start of the “11th” holiday.
The Qingdao Municipal Health Commission said that the city will complete an extensive search of 9 million residents within a week. The order of screening will be: close contacts, close contacts of close contacts, general contacts, and then the scope of testing will be gradually expanded to all communities.
China’s new coronavirus outbreak was first reported late last year in the central city of Wuhan. So far, only Wuhan, Urumqi and Qingdao have taken a national outbreak.
On Tuesday, Chinese media reported widespread flight cancellations at Qingdao’s Liuting Airport.
Many Chinese provinces and cities have issued travel warnings to residents of the region not to travel to Qingdao. The organizers of the biennial Zhuhai Airshow, originally scheduled for November 10-15 in Zhuhai, announced that it has been postponed due to the new coronavirus outbreak. Specific dates will be announced later.
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