Shaanxi finds 6 COVID cases, one carrier

Shaanxi province identified six new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic carrier in Xi'an on Sunday, authorities said on Monday morning at a news conference.

Xi'an had collected 33,777 samples for testing from people related to the seven tourists. As of 8 am on Monday, the results of 20,481 of those sampled had come back negative, the city's information office said.

The seven people who were found to be positive were part of a tour group that had traveled from Shanghai to Zhangye, Gansu province, by air via Xi'an on Oct 9 and then traveled around by car in Gansu and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. On Friday, they flew from Jiayuguan, Gansu, to Xi'an with certificates showing they were negative for coronavirus.

One couple, identified as Yan and Jiang, tested negative in Ejine Banner, Inner Mongolia, on Wednesday evening and were found to be clear. They also took a test on Friday morning in Jiayuguan but did not get the result before leaving the city.

On Saturday morning, the couple took a taxi to Eighth Hospital of Xi'an for a test. This time they were found positive. Five other people in their tour group took tests and were also found positive.

Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, also reported one case on Monday. The patient, surnamed Ai, had joined the seven traveling in Gansu and Inner Mongolia and had returned to Yinchuan from Jiayuguan on Saturday.

In Jiayuguan, 26 people were identified as having had close contact with infected individuals. All their test results were negative.

The city's COVID-19 prevention and control headquarters announced on Monday that it would test all residents from 8 am to 11 pm.

Some scenic areas were closed temporarily for epidemic control, including a cultural relics venue in Jiayuguan, the populus euphratica forest in Jiuquan's Jinta county in Gansu and the Dayan Pagoda and pedestrian street of the Great Tang All Day Mall in Xi'an.