What’s new: Northeast China’s port city Dalian will launch a massive Covid-19 testing campaign for more than 7 million residents while imposing travel restrictions after a recent flare-up of the disease.
City authorities said virus tests covering all residents started at noon Tuesday and are set to be completed in three days. Meanwhile, local residents were told not to leave the city except for essential trips.
A total of 197 flights in and out Dalian were canceled Tuesday, about 48.6% of all flights scheduled for the day, flight tracking platform Variflight.com showed. The city will also suspend visits to nursing homes and long-term care centers and control traffic in some public venues, city officials said.
What’s the context: The city of Dalian has experienced a resurgence of Covid-19 in recent weeks, ending months of zero case since August. The city confirmed two new infections Monday with an additional six locally transmitted asymptomatic cases.
The latest flare-up was detected Dec. 15 when four asymptomatic patients were found during a regular virus test among workers at a cold chain delivery company. Since then, five confirmed infections and 12 asymptomatic cases have been recorded.
Genetic studies showed that the viruses reemerging in Dalian are likely to have been imported from Europe, city authorities sad.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com).
