A medical worker collects nucleic acid samples in Ejine Banner on Oct 24, as the fourth round of mass nucleic acid testing begins. [Photo/Inner Mongolia Daily]

Ejine Banner in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region reported 12 new confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases from 12 pm to 6:30 pm on Oct 24.

To date, Ejine Banner has confirmed a total of 43 COVID-19 cases so far in the latest wave of infections, and all infected people have been sent to designated hospitals for treatment.

Ejine Banner is located in the westernmost part of Inner Mongolia and has a total area of 114,600 square kilometers and a population of 35,800. 

To prevent and control the spread of novel coronavirus, Ejine Banner immediately activated its emergency response mechanism, after five local people who came into contact with tourists tested positive on Oct 18.

The Ejine Banner Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic Disposal Headquarters were promptly established.

A total of 11 special working groups were deployed for nucleic acid testing, epidemiological investigation, medical treatment, and material support for publicity and guidance. 

Roads and residential communities are under strict control to limit the spread of the virus, and mass nucleic acid testing is being conducted to screen for potential cases.

All persons with positive nucleic acid tests have been transferred to designated medical institutions for treatment, and the timely centralized isolation and control of close contacts and sub-closers were conducted, with relevant communities and places being managed according to their risk levels.

Meanwhile, on the day the first case was detected in Ejine Banner, all 9,700 stranded tourists were resettled. 

Ejine Banner introduced price control measures, stipulating that the price of hotel rooms cannot exceed 200 yuan ($30) per day, and the market supervision department will enforce the rule.

To ensure that stranded tourists have enough to eat, Ejine Banner has reopened large hotels that were closed due to the epidemic. 

From Oct 22, Ejine Banner began to provide stranded tourists with free meals, disposable medical masks, instant noodles, ham sausage, and mineral water every day.

Trucks carrying virus prevention and control supplies arrive in Ejine Banner on Oct 22. [Photo/Inner Mongolia Daily]

As of the morning of Oct 22, Ejine Banner had reserved more than 4,000 metric tons of daily necessities. Rice, noodles, oil, and meat are enough for 10 days, and short-term storage items such as vegetables and fruit are enough for about three days. 

The road, railway, and air cargo transportation channels to Ejine Banner are operating smoothly, and aid from Ordos, Bayannuur, and other places is streaming in.

Additionally, Ejine Banner announced an appeal reflection channel – the "China Ejine" WeChat public account – to help tourists on Oct 21.

The next day, it also announced the "12345" government service hotline, cultural tourism consultation telephone, and market supervision consultation service telephone.

In order to better meet the needs of tourists, Ejine Banner has set up a special group for service guarantees for stranded tourists, which collects and processes the demands of tourists from various channels in a unified manner, and has staff members responsible for taking care of their needs.

For example, in response to some stranded tourists who reported that they did not know the location of sampling sites for nucleic acid testing or how long the queue time would be, Ejine Banner increased the number of sampling sites from 12 to 41 in the third round of nucleic acid testing, with four fixed sampling sites and 37 mobile sampling sites being set up.