Dalian confirms 3 new COVID-19 cases

The northeastern port city Dalian identified three confirmed COVID-19 infections and discharged one confirmed and one asymptomatic case from the hospital on Wednesday, a health official said at a news conference on Thursday.

Of the three newly confirmed cases, one was previously identified as an asymptomatic infection and the other two were close contacts of confirmed cases, said Zhao Lian, deputy director of the Dalian Health Commission.

Since July 22, a total of 92 cases have been confirmed, including 91 in hospitals. The number of asymptomatic cases under medical observation is 22 as of Wednesday, Zhao said.

The local health authority said Dalian will continue to promote repeated nucleic acid testing for key personnel and in key areas. On Wednesday, more than 80,000 people completed nucleic acid testing.

Since the emergence of an outbreak in the northeastern port city on July 22, Dalian has requisitioned and deployed hotels as centralized quarantine sites, said Mei Xingang, an official with the city's municipal government office, at the news conference.

At present, all 104 quarantine sites have been equipped with professional medical and disease control personnel and psychologists, Mei said.