China's latest Covid resurgence spreads to 21 provinces

BEIJING: The latest Covid-19 resurgence in China has spread to 21 provincial-level regions, where new locally transmitted cases or asymptomatic carriers were reported in the past few days, a health official said.

With the number of cases surpassing 250 million worldwide, the country is facing greater challenges of preventing inbound cases, Xinhua news agency quoted Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC), as saying at a press conference.

The country is also facing the risk of infectious respiratory illnesses brought about by low temperature, noted Mi, adding that risks are doubled under such circumstances.

In the wake of the resurgence, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) has stepped up prevention and control measures across China's land border ports in an effort to stop the transmission of the virus.

The GAC has tailored an emergency plan for each land border port and constantly fine-tuned them, Lin Wei, an official with the GAC, told reporters here.

The transfer of goods will take place with a non-contact approach. Goods, including cold-chain food, shall be sampled and disinfected, he added.

All frontline workers at customs have been vaccinated against Covid-19, and the GAC will continue to enhance Covid-19 immunity among the group.

Efforts have also been made to ensure sufficient epidemic prevention supplies at land border ports and upgrades in their testing capacity for the virus.

As of Sunday morning, China's overall Covid caseload stood at 98,263, including 1,350 patients still receiving treatment, 19 of whom were in severe condition, according to the National Health Commission.

In the last 24 hours, the country registered 70 new locally transmitted cases, of which 60 were reported in Liaoning, three in Hebei, two each in Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, and Yunnan, as well as one in Sichuan.

The overall death toll stood at 4,636. (IANS)

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