City
Epaper

'School-centred' Delta outbreak in China's Fujian grows

By ANI | Published: September 14, 2021 4:39 PM

An outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the elementary school has forced China to impose restrictions in the southern province of Fujian.

Open in App

An outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the elementary school has forced China to impose restrictions in the southern province of Fujian.

The outbreak, dubbed China's "first school-centred flare-up" by state media, was originally detected Friday at an elementary school in the city of Putian. It has since spread throughout the province, infecting more than 100 people in three cities, reported CNN.

The National Health Commission (NHC) reported 59 cases in Fujian for Monday, including 24 in Putian and 32 in Xiamen, a major coastal city popular with tourists. On Tuesday, the two cities launched mass COVID testing for all residents.

The latest outbreaks in Fujian were first detected on pupils at an elementary school in Xianyou. Since then, infections have been found in students at several kindergartens and primary schools.

In Putian, eight kindergarten students and 28 elementary school students have been infected, according to the government.

Xiamen and Putian have shut down schools and kindergartens and ordered them to conduct classes online, reported CNN.

Putian has about 3 million residents, while Xiamen has a population of 5 million. Both cities have ordered residents not to leave town for non-essential travel.

Those with legitimate reasons to leave must produce a negative coronavirus test taken within the past 48 hours. Long-distance coaches departing from the two cities have also been suspended, reported CNN.

On Tuesday, Xiamen imposed targeted lockdowns on residential neighbourhoods affected by the outbreak, with residents forbidden from leaving their apartments or compounds.

It also shut down libraries, museums, bars, cinemas and gyms, banned large-scale gatherings and cancelled events celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, a three-day holiday that begins on Sunday, reported CNN.

Similar restrictions have also been imposed in Putian. The city has reported a total of 85 infections, including 30 children under the age of 10, the municipal government said at a news conference Tuesday.

In Xianyou, authorities have placed more than 3,000 direct and secondary contacts of infected cases in quarantine, including large numbers of school children, some of whom have been separated from their parents, according to Wu Haiduan, head of the county government, reported CNN.

The NHC estimates about 30,000 people from Putian, the epicentre of the latest outbreak, had left the province in the two weeks prior to Friday.

An expert team sent by the NHC to Fujian called the outbreak "severe and complicated," but said it could hopefully be controlled before the National Day holiday next month if containment measures were implemented thoroughly, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Experts advising the government have pointed to a father who recently returned from Singapore as the likely source of the outbreak, despite him having been subject to lengthy, draconian quarantine, reported CNN.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Tags: Wu haiduanchinaCNNDeltaFacebook groupXiamenTwitter sportsInternational data corp.State for international tradeState sportsU.s. news
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalTaiwan Detects 26 Chinese Military Aircraft, Five Naval Ships Across the Country (See Tweet)

InternationalChina: Death Toll Rises to 36 After Motorway Collapse

Social ViralCat's Playtime Gone Wrong: Chinese Owner Faces Rs 11 Lakh Damage as Pet Triggers Kitchen Fire

InternationalChina: At Least 19 Killed, Dozens Injured After Highway Collapses in Guangdong Province

InternationalChinese Scientist Who Published First Sequence of COVID-19 Virus Protests After Being Locked Out From Lab

International Realted Stories

International"PM Modi's govt will never compromise when it comes to national security": Jaishankar on India-China borders' clashes

International4 killed after Pakistan security forces open fire on peaceful protest in Balochistan

InternationalPakistan Telecommunication Authority rejects govt demand to block over 0.5 million SIMs of non-filers

InternationalChina among world's 10 most dangerous countries for media professionals: Report

InternationalIndian Americans caution US university on demand to display 'flag of Kashmir'