Jilin imposes tough measures as infections rise
THE northeast Chinese city of Jilin is imposing fresh restrictions on travel in order to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, with six new cases reported on Tuesday.
Jilin is the second largest city of Jilin Province with a population of more than 4 million. Local health commission said the six domestically transmitted cases could all be traced to Shulan, a county-level city administered by Jilin City, where a cluster infection was previously identified.
“The current COVID-19 situation is quite complex and severe, and there is huge risk that the virus will spread further,” said Gai Dongping, Jilin’s vice mayor, yesterday.
“In order to cut off the spread of the epidemic, we have decided to implement control measures in the urban area of Jilin,” she said, adding that the city will take control measures in line with the high-risk standard.
The measures include suspending all coach and tourist charter bus services. People who wish to leave the city will have to register with a negative report of nucleic acid testing within 48 hours of travel and remain isolated after the test and before leaving the city.
Jilin’s railway station was also shut down yesterday.
All cinemas, indoor gyms, Internet cafes and other enclosed entertainment venues was shut, and pharmacies have been told to report all sales of fever and antiviral medicines.
Authorities have also closed all tourist spots and banned group dining.
All gathering activities inside and outside of schools are now banned. These activities include teaching, training, holding exams, competitions and other school-related activities. Students who had returned to school will now take all classes online.
Authorities are still investigating how the first patient, a laundry worker in Shulan, got infected. The total number of cases connected to the patient has risen to 21.
He Qinghua, an official with the National Health Commission, said yesterday that the public would be informed of any findings in the epidemiological investigation in Shulan.
The commission has sent a working team to the city to help with the disease treatment and epidemiological investigation.
The official called on local authorities to take prompt actions in implementing the anti-epidemic measures on a regular basis and improving the testing capability at professional institutions to quickly identify the source of infection and track close contacts.
Also, Jiaohe, another area of Jilin City, has put out an urgent appeal for those who attended a wedding connected to one confirmed case. They have been asked to alert local authorities and isolate themselves.
The local government said in a post on Tuesday that a confirmed coronavirus patient had driven two wedding photographers to Jiaohe for a celebration at a hotel.
Since May 7, Jilin City has completed nucleic acid testing on 2,389 people and tracked down 367 close contacts of 21 confirmed cases. These contacts have all been put under medical observation.
(Agencies)