China's Xinjiang clears COVID-19 risk areas

URUMQI -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has been cleared of medium and high-risk areas for COVID-19, with the last medium-risk areas in its border city of Horgos downgraded to low-risk, local authorities said Tuesday.

With the adjustment, the whole of Xinjiang is back in the low-risk category for COVID-19.

Five medium-risk areas of Horgos in the Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture have been downgraded to low-risk, and the city has reported no new confirmed cases and asymptomatic carriers for 10 consecutive days from Jan 30 to Feb 8, the prefecture's information office told a press conference on Tuesday.

By the end of last month, Horgos, a major rail port in the region, had handled 570 China-Europe freight trains in 2022, up 11 percent year on year. Besides, it logged a total of over 628,000 tonnes of import and export cargo volume during the period, indicating an overall resumption of the city's production and life.

Xinjiang had seven confirmed cases and 16 asymptomatic carriers by the end of Monday amid the latest outbreak starting from Jan 23.