91 new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 detected in Inner Mongolia

The Chinese mainland recorded 91 new locally transmitted confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest daily number since Nov 2.

Data from the National Health Commission showed all the cases were detected in Hulunbuir, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Since three residents in Manzhouli, a border city in Inner Mongolia that is under the jurisdiction of Hulunbuir, tested positive for the virus on Saturday, a total of 135 positive cases had been reported in Hulunbuir and Tongliao in the region and the city of Nehe in Heilongjiang province by Tuesday.

Manzhouli added 12 new locally transmitted confirmed cases of COVID-19 from midnight to 2 pm on Wednesday, officials said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

"By 2 pm on Wednesday, the city had reported 142 local confirmed cases since three residents tested positive on Nov 27," said Song Jixiang, a vice-mayor of Manzhouli. "The third round of mass nucleic acid testing covering all local residents was completed on Wednesday afternoon, collecting 164,529 samples, 57 of which came back positive."

The 12 new confirmed cases were among those who tested positive, with further tests underway on the remainder.

The city started a fourth round of nucleic acid testing at 8 am on Wednesday, its epidemic prevention and control headquarters said, adding that punishment, which could be severe, will be meted out to those who contribute to the spread of the epidemic by evading, cheating or refusing testing.

On Wednesday, three subdistricts in the city were listed as high-risk areas for COVID-19.

Genome sequencing and epidemiological investigation results show the recent outbreak in Hulunbuir was not related to previous local outbreaks, but was triggered by an imported source, Cui Gang, an official from the National Health Commission's disease prevention and control bureau, said at news conference on Tuesday.

"The first three cases reported in the latest outbreak had possible exposure to imported goods," Wang Tao, another vice-mayor of Manzhouli and director of the city's public security bureau, said at a news conference on Tuesday. "After a large number of visits, investigations and research, the preliminary analysis is that the virus was carried by imported goods into Manzhouli and spread via person-to-person or goods-to-person transmission."

Starting Wednesday, Manzhouli's railway port would suspend all imports of non-container goods including wood, coal, mineral powder, fertilizer, pulp, agricultural and sideline products and other goods that need manual handling, the city government said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"We are now facing a serious and complex COVID-19 control and prevention situation," Xu Zhihong, director of the Inner Mongolia Regional Health Commission, told China Central Television on Tuesday. "In the following process, efforts will be intensified in nucleic acid testing, hoping to identify the potential positive cases as soon as possible."