Beilun has reported 23 confirmed COVID-19 cases

As of Jan 3, Ningbo in Zhejiang province has reported 23 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Beilun district.

"The Beilun virus strain, upon checks and analysis, is the same one as an evolutionary branch of the Delta variant AY.57, which was seen in Vietnam recently. It is likely that the transmission of the virus was through objects," said Wang Renyuan, deputy secretary general of Ningbo Municipal People's Government, at a news conference held in the city on Monday evening.

Most of the locally transmitted cases are workers from a factory of Shenzhou International Group, a textile company in Beilun district, Wang added.

On Jan 1, Ningbo recorded the first confirmed COVID-19 case, in which a worker from the company tested positive on a nucleic acid test and was then admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Yanhai village, as well as Shenzhou’s factory and dormitories, where the patient lived and worked, were designated medium-risk areas for COVID-19. Close-loop management has been imposed on the areas since Jan 1. Two rounds of mass nucleic acid testing have been launched in the areas.

Mass nucleic acid testing was also conducted for more than 420,000 residents in Beilun, except in areas under close-loop management. All tests have returned negative results. 

To contain the spread of the virus, a temporary closure was also imposed on Beilun district and all schools have been closed since Jan 4.