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Linda Lew

The number of local cases of Covid-19 continued to fall in China on Tuesday, with 11 new infections reported as the country prepares for the week-long National Day holiday.
Health authorities said eight cases were reported in the northeastern city of Harbin and three in Xiamen in the south, down from a total of 13 on Monday.
Nine officials were also disciplined for failing to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Harbin’s epidemic command centre said on Wednesday that three officials from Bayan county and six from Songbei district were given warnings over the mismanagement of medical isolation for at least three close contacts of known cases.
China’s Covid-19 cases lowest since latest outbreak, but National Day holiday a big worry
Ke Yunnan, from Harbin’s health commission, said the city was carrying out a fourth round of mass testing. Residents were urged to stay inside as much as possible, and not leave Harbin unless necessary.
“The outbreak is complicated and severe, as confirmed cases have been to multiple locations, and the people they were in contact with are active,” Ke said.
Transmission also appears to be coming under control in the southeastern province of Fujian, with three new cases on Tuesday, down from a high of 61 two weeks ago.
Genetic sequencing of 263 virus samples confirmed the strain of the outbreak as Delta, and as of Tuesday, no cases outside the province had been linked to the transmission chain discovered in Fujian, according to local authorities.
China looks overseas for vaccine data in search for way out of Covid-19
National Health Commission official Cui Gang said that as of Tuesday, 470 cases had been linked to the outbreak in Fujian, and 75 in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, of which Harbin is the capital.
“The outbreak in Fujian has been effectively controlled, with no new confirmed cases in the cities of Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Putian in recent days. Xiamen is also seeing its number of new cases trending down. For Heilongjiang, containment is at a crucial moment, and measures continue to be strengthened,” Cui said.
China has been giving booster shots to high-risk and vulnerable groups in places such as Guangdong, Henan and Zhejiang.
The boosters are also recommended for medical workers, border staff, people 60 and over, and those with underlying conditions. But booster shots for the general population are still being studied, according to Wang Huaqing, from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.


The easing in case numbers comes as rail authorities prepare for the 11-day National Day break, starting on Friday.
China State Railway Group said it was adding train services and taking pandemic prevention measures to cope with the 127 million people expected to travel on the system over the holiday.
The figure is about the same as the number of passengers at the same time last year.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said more travellers were expected to be on the move for the holiday, given the temperate weather and discounts at tourist attractions.
Tourism official Hou Zhengang said many people stayed home in the summer to avoid Covid-19 outbreaks and were expected to make up for it this time.
Hou said health measures such as QR codes for contact tracing and crowd controls to reduce foot traffic at tourist sites would be in place, as well as circuit breakers for cross-provincial travel if new cases were detected.


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Coronavirus China

Covid-19 cases fall as China counts down to National Day break

Medical workers pose with patients discharged from hospital after recovering from Covid-19 in Xiamen on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Harbin residents told to stay home for the holiday amid Covid-19 outbreak

A resident gets tested at a makeshift centre in Bayan county, Harbin, where a fifth round of mass screening has begun. Photo: Xinhua

(210924) -- HARBIN, Sept. 24, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Passengers show their nucleic acid test reports to the staff members at the Harbin Railway Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 23, 2021. The virus strain behind the latest COVID-19 infections in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has been identified as the Delta variant, local authorities said Friday. The finding was based on gene sequencing of the virus from the city's first group of COVID-19 patients in the latest resurgence emerging on Tuesday, according to the municipal COVID-19 prevention and control headquarters. From Tuesday to Thursday, Harbin had reported a total of 26 local COVID-19 infections. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

Coronavirus: Singapore hits 2,000 daily cases; New Zealand outbreak ‘seated in gang communities’

Of Singapore’s serious virus cases, 201 are patients aged over 60. File photo: Reuters

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 15, 2021 motorists queue at the Otara testing station after a positive COVID-19 coronavirus case was reported in the community as the city enters a level 3 lockdown in Auckland. - New Zealand's largest city Auckland will remain in a Covid-19 lockdown for at least another two weeks, although some restrictions will be eased, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on September 20, 2021. (Photo by DAVID ROWLAND / AFP)

Australian Wiradjuri elder and Indigenous rights activist Aunty Jenny Munro after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination clinic at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, Sydney, Saturday, September 4, 2021. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING

(210921) -- AUCKLAND, Sept. 21, 2021 (Xinhua) -- A man rides a bicycle at Mission Bay in Auckland, New Zealand, on Sept. 19, 2021. New Zealand's largest city Auckland will relax restrictions by moving to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday for at least two weeks, as the country reported 22 new Delta community cases on Monday. The city has remained at level 4, the top-level COVID-19 lockdown, for more than 30 days, longer than last year's lockdown, with schools and none-essential businesses closed. The rest of the country will stay at Alert Level 2, which means businesses and schools are back to normal, with masks-wearing mandatory in certain settings and gatherings limited to 50 people in size. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)

China looks overseas for vaccine data in search for way out of Covid-19

A health worker delivers CanSino Covid-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination for teachers and school staff in Mexico City in May. China’s Covid-19 Vaccines Overseas Evaluation Programme will be held in countries where Chinese vaccines are used. Photo: Reuters

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China

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Harbin reports eight new infections, nine officials warned over quarantine failures
Rail operator prepares for an expected 127 million passengers over the 11-day holiday



Harbin reports eight new infections, nine officials warned over quarantine failures.


Covid-19 cases fall as China counts down to National Day break

Harbin reports eight new infections, nine officials warned over quarantine failures Rail operator prepares for an expected 127 million passengers over the 11-day holiday

Harbin reports eight new infections, nine officials warned over quarantine failures

Rail operator prepares for an expected 127 million passengers over the 11-day holiday