Nation reports its highest daily case total in 3 months

The Chinese mainland reported 101 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest daily figure in three months, with the majority of them in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Xinjiang reported 89 new cases, with another eight in Liaoning province, and one in Beijing, Chinese health authorities said on Wednesday. Another three were imported cases, two in Guangdong province and one in Shanghai.

Nearly half of the confirmed infections in Xinjiang, which were all in the region's capital Urumqi, involved previously identified asymptomatic carriers as the city's confirmed cases continue to grow, a health official told the virus prevention and control conference in Urumqi on Wednesday afternoon.

The city reported another 15 asymptomatic cases on Tuesday. By that day, the total number of confirmed cases stood at 320, and the number of asymptomatic cases at 130 since the outbreak started on July 15.

Yan Jun, director of the city's commerce bureau, said at the conference that more than 350 metric tons of mutton and beef will be inserted into the market from July 29 to Aug 12 to ensure abundant food supplies.

Food prices remain stable in Urumqi, and there are enough supplies on the market to meet the daily needs of the residents, Yan added.

"The price of meat seems cheaper than before," said Ma Zhongliang, who lives in Tianshan district, where the city's first confirmed cases were detected.

"I cannot go out because of the closed management in our community. Every time I want to buy some meat, the volunteer in our residential community can help me."

In Dalian, Liaoning province, the city's latest COVID-19 outbreak has affected a high proportion of young people and has involved many asymptomatic cases, a city health official said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"In light of that, we have been evaluating cases in a timely manner and adjusting treatment solutions accordingly," said Zhao Lian, deputy director of the Dalian Health Commission.

Data from the commission show among the 44 confirmed cases that have been reported as of Monday, two are under 30 years old; 16 from 31 to 40; 18 from 41 to 50; six from 51 to 60; and two above 70.

"It might be partly because most of the confirmed cases are employees of the seafood processing company. The younger patients are in mild and moderate condition," said Zhang Yongli, chief physician in the intensive care unit of the Dalian Medical University's First Affiliated Hospital, who is supporting staff at Dalian Sixth People's Hospital, the designated medical facility.

The port city announced eight new infections on Tuesday, all involving people previously identified as asymptomatic carriers. The total number of confirmed cases has climbed to 52 in the past week. Thirty-four asymptomatic cases are under medical observation, Zhao said.

Beijing reported one new local COVID-19 case related to Dalian on Tuesday, according to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission on Wednesday afternoon. So far, two local cases related to Dalian have been reported in Beijing, including one that was reported on Monday.

Pang Xinghuo, deputy head of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference on Wednesday that the latest patient is a 34-year-old man who is the son-in-law of the case reported on Monday.

By noon on Wednesday, 606 residents living in the same building as the two cases received their test results, with all showing negative results, according to Wu Bin, deputy head of Changping district, where the community is located.