China has detected 137 asymptomatic coronavirus cases in Kashgar in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. The authorities have then found the virus in one person.
Currently, China’s mainland’s first few cases stood at 10, and the researchers tracked the patients back to a garment factory.
The new cases were found to be the first local infections in China after Oct. 14. In Qingdao, researchers detected one point. The authorities traced the case from a garment factory. There, they found on Saturday that the 17-year-old girl’s parents resulted positive. The girl previously tested positive, and all of them were asymptomatic cases.
Lockdown in Kashgar
The China authorities immediately closed the flight operations after finding the cases. They also canceled many flights. Residents of the city responded with confusion over social media. The police authorities, after that, posted a message to wear masks and not to believe or spread rumors. However, they deleted the announcement soon after that.
Afterward, they announced the asymptomatic cases after initiating the testing program on Saturday night. The testing covered almost 4.75 million people in the region of Kashgar.
The medical experts tested nearly 2.84 million people. According to the city government, they will cover the rest by Sunday afternoon.
Zero symptomatic cases
China has a policy to not classify asymptomatic cases as “confirmed cases.” So far, no symptoms were found in the people during the testing.
Working conditions
The 17-year-old girl lives and works at a garment factory. She went home to visit her family every two weeks, state media reported. She had not traveled abroad nor interacted with people who are carrying the virus.
According to health authorities, she drives between home and her factory and her parents’ factory. A week ago, she went to a shopping mall with her mother. Routine testing detected the girl’s infection.
Dr. Anna Hayes, the senior lecturer in politics and international relations at James Cook University in Australia said:
“The truth that she was underage and living in a factory away from her parents was suspicious, given the documented evidence of unfree labor in the region.”
Kashgar
Neighboring countries to Kashgar are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, reports more than 900 cases in mid-July. With this, for weeks, the place remained under strict lockdown. Four towns are also at risk in the area as identified.
The Chinese healthcare officials were dispatched to guide experts on controlling coronavirus in the region.
Image courtesy of IHOR SULYATYTSKYY/Shutterstock