Virus-hit county in Fujian to conduct mass testing

The city of Putian in Fujian province reported 35 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 32 local asymptomatic carriers as of Sunday at midnight, according to local health authorities.

Putian's Xianyou county, which was hit hard in this most recent outbreak, will carry out a county-wide nucleic acid testing, the county's headquarters on COVID-19 control and prevention said on Monday.

Fengting town in Xianyou county, where two COVID-19 high-risk areas and five medium-risk areas are located, has completed the first round of mass nucleic acid testing and the second round is underway, local government personnel said.

The township is now under tiered virus control measures to prevent infection, and door-to-door service groups have been organized to take care of residents' daily needs.

As the fall semester begins, COVID-19 prevention and control in schools has become an area of concern, and education authorities in Fujian have responded in kind.

Schools and universities in Fujian province have been asked to finish a new round of nucleic acid testing on all students and faculty before Sept 19, the provincial education department said in a joint notice with the provincial health commission on Sunday.

Students and faculties who are in Putian should not return to school, and those who live with people have traveled to Putian since Aug 26 should delay returning to school, start 14-day health monitoring and take two nucleic acid tests on days 1 and 14. The monitoring can be lifted after the two tests come back negative, according to the notice. Those who are staying overseas are not allowed to return to school until further notice.

In Putian, all kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools and tutoring institutions were ordered to suspend in-person teaching starting Monday. Schools should provide online lessons for students, who are advised to stay home and not attend any gatherings, according to a notice from the city's education bureau.