Gulf News

China races to test 4.75 mafter finding new cluster of virus

137 new infections after 17- year- old factory worker tests positive in Xinjiang

- BEIJING

Chinese officials were racing yesterday to smother a fresh coronaviru­s outbreak in the country’s far northwest after 137 new infections were discovered.

Mass testing began Saturday evening to cover 4.75 million residents in and around Kashgar, Xinjiang province, after a 17- year- old garment factory worker tested positive for the virus. China — where the coronaviru­s first emerged late last year — has largely brought domestic transmissi­on under control through lockdowns, travel restrictio­ns and testing, but sporadic regional outbreaks have emerged.

Beijing has lauded its rapid testing capabiliti­es, with the Communist Party eager to project an image of victory over the virus as much of the world struggles with lockdowns and mass outbreaks. The new cases — all asymptomat­ic — were linked to a factory in Shufu county where the girl and her parents worked, the Xinjiang health commission told a press briefing.

Cultural heart of Uighurs

A special team from Beijing’s National Health Commission was sent to investigat­e the source of the outbreak and assist with preventive measures, broadcaste­r CCTV said.

As of yesterday more than 2.8 million samples had been collected in the area and the rest would be completed within two days, the city government said in a statement.

Kashgar — near the country’s borders with Pakistan, Afghanista­n, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan — is the cultural heart of ethnic Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims, many of whom complain of longrunnin­g political and religious oppression, which the Chinese government denies.

All schools in Kashgar have been closed until October 30 and anyone leaving the city now needs to show a negative nucleic acid test, the city government said.

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