Jilin battles to stem COVID-19 cases

Province makes contingency plans for upcoming spring plowing season

The spread of COVID-19 in Jilin city, Jilin province, has been effectively contained, while periodic successes in epidemic prevention and control have been seen in Jiutai district of Changchun, the provincial capital, officials said.

"However, the situation across the province remains intense, which means we need to promote prevention and control measures directed at the transmission characteristics of the Omicron variant," Zhang Li, deputy director of the provincial health commission, said at a news conference on Thursday.

Of the 1,340 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases that Jilin province reported on Wednesday, 997 were found in Changchun, 333 in Jilin city, six in Siping and four in Baicheng.

Of the 835 newly reported asymptomatic carriers, 422 were identified in Changchun, 408 in Jilin city, three in Baishan and one each in Siping and Baicheng.

Starting on Tuesday, Jilin city adjusted its measures for nucleic acid testing according to the current conditions of epidemic prevention and control, local officials said.

"Instead of mass testing across the city, residents under home quarantine and in key residential communities and villages received nucleic acid tests by home visits on Tuesday," Zhang Liye, deputy director of the city's health commission, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"In those communities and villages that reported no new infections since March 23, no tests were carried out on Tuesday.

"On Wednesday, we launched mass testing among residents in communities and villages that have reported infection cases over the past 10 days," he said.

"COVID-19 rapid antigen testing was used for all the other residents."

Meanwhile, the Changchun government has punished two officials for causing public outrage during the outbreak.

Zhang Zuobin, deputy secretary of the CPC working committee of the city government organs, and Liu Ying, director of the city's cyberspace administration, both recently encouraged subordinates to post on social media that they had enough fresh vegetables to eat at a time when many ordinary people were experiencing shortages.

According to a statement by the government on Thursday, Zhang has been removed from his position and Liu has been warned by the Party.

To ensure the smooth progress of spring plowing, the Jilin Provincial Transportation Department has made adjustments to its measures on trans-provincial transportation.

"Vehicles engaged in transporting agricultural materials, fresh agricultural products and some other important materials will be allowed to enter the province with traffic permits issued by the transportation departments of their regions," said Li Xiaodong, director of the administration.

"We have made contingency plans for responding to emergency situations during the coming spring plowing season."

In total, the Chinese mainland on Wednesday reported 1,803 new local cases and 6,651 asymptomatic carriers, the National Health Commission said.

Health authorities in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, triggered an emergency response mechanism on Wednesday, including epidemiological investigations, nucleic acid testing and quarantine measures after a new confirmed case and 23 asymptomatic carriers were reported.

The first two cases during its latest outbreak were found on Tuesday and tracing data showed they were migrant workers who had either been to Shanghai or had contacted others from there.

A case related to Shanghai was also reported in Hainan province.

The case was recorded in Qionghai city on the eastern coast of the island on Thursday, according to the Qionghai COVID-19 prevention and control headquarters.

A preliminary survey shows that the person arrived at the Haikou Meilan International Airport from Shanghai on Monday morning and took a nucleic acid test upon landing.

The person then went to Qionghai by a private car and checked in to the Dongyu Island Hotel, Boao town, where the 2022 Boao Forum for Asia annual conference will be held from April 20 to 22.

Zheng Caixiong in Guangzhou and Ma Zhiping in Haikou contributed to this story.