SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Urumqi, the capital of China’s far western region of Xinjiang, reported five new coronavirus cases by noon (0400 GMT) on Friday, after the report of an earlier case, its first in months, led to hundreds of flights being cancelled.
The city also reported eight new asymptomatic cases, the regional health commission said, taking Xinjiang’s tally to six infections and 11 asymptomatic patients.
Epidemic control measures led to the cancellation of more than 600 scheduled flights at Urumqi Diwopu International Airport, or more than 80% of the day’s total, figures from aviation data firm Variflight showed.
Urumqi also suspended subway services from late Thursday.
On Thursday, health authorities in Urumqi said a 24-year-old woman with symptoms such as a sore throat, fever and headaches, tested positive for the virus. Three people with whom she had close contact tested positive but did not show symptoms.
Also on Thursday, the eastern province of Zhejiang reported an asymptomatic case involving a traveller from Xinjiang.
The tally of mainland China’s confirmed infections was 83,622 by the end of Thursday, with deaths unchanged at 4,634. Another 104 asymptomatic patients were under observation.
Beijing, which suffered a fresh outbreak last month, reported no new cases for an 11th consecutive day.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.)
(Reporting by Stella Qiu, Lusha Zhang, and Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by Samuel Shen, Jing Wang and Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
