COVID-19 prevention measures tighten in NE China

Residents in the city of Jilin, Jilin province have had limitations on their movements starting Monday due to tightened control and prevention measures against the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

From Monday to Friday, residents under lockdown management will be prohibited from leaving their homes, and residents in the control management area can only leave the units for nucleic acid testing, according to a statement released by the city's leading group on COVID-19 prevention and control.

All the convenience stores and supermarkets in residential communities have been closed.

Residents can order takeaway services via online platforms, and the deliveries will be made to their doors by community workers and volunteers, the statement said.

The capital city Changchun also upgraded its control and prevention management across the whole city.

From Sunday to Wednesday, all residents are prohibited from leaving the residential communities and villages, according to the city's epidemic prevention and control headquarters.

No vehicles are allowed on the roads except for those engaged in transporting goods or involved in epidemic prevention and control, medical aid or emergency rescue.

All the stores and supermarkets in the city will be suspended, and online service will be provided during the period.

Jilin province reported 1,542 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 549 asymptomatic carriers on Sunday, the provincial health commission said on Monday.

Of the confirmed cases, 1,079 were found in Changchun, 452 in Jilin city, eight in Siping, two in Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture, and one in Songyuan.

Of the asymptomatic carriers, 545 were identified in Jilin city, two in Songyuan, one each in Changchun and Siping.

"Over 98 percent of the confirmed cases in the recent outbreak are patients with mild symptoms," Zhang Li, deputy director of the provincial Health Commission, said at a news conference on Monday. "The work of medical treatment is going well."

On Sunday, 270 confirmed cases and asymptomatic carriers were discharged from the hospital or quarantine, including 143 in Jilin and 127 in Changchun, he added.

"Currently, the reserve of epidemic prevention materials in the province are sufficient," said Song Xiaohui, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. "With the support of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, we purchased 10,000 boxes of anti-coronavirus medicine produced by Pfizer, the first batch in China."

"After going through customs in Shanghai, they arrived in Changchun on Sunday evening," he said. "They will be distributed to the regions as soon as possible according to the distribution plan by the provincial health commission."