A worker controls a drone to conduct disinfection at a community closed off due to COVID-19 in Changchun, Jilin province, on Monday. [Photo by WANG QIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Residents prohibited from going to other regions to curb risk of spread

To reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, all residents of Jilin province have been prohibited from traveling to other provinces or other parts of Jilin, the provincial leading group on COVID-19 prevention and control said in a statement issued on Monday.

Those who have to travel for special reasons must register at their local police station and undergo quarantine after returning. Those who do not report their journeys truthfully will face punishment.

Jilin has purchased 12 million COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits and will distribute them to the worst-hit regions, officials said on Monday.

"The combination of nucleic acid and antigen testing will greatly beef up detection capabilities," Song Xiaohui, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, told a news conference. "It is easy for people in need to use the test kits and it takes only 15 to 20 minutes to get the results.

"With the help of the National Health Commission and the provincial health commission, we finished the purchase from several domestic companies within a short time. As of 1 pm Monday, more than 8 million test kits have arrived in Changchun (the provincial capital).

"Test kits will be sent to some key areas, such as Changchun, Jilin city and Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture, as well as universities, public service companies, and hospitals involved in epidemic prevention and control in some other regions."

COVID-19 rapid antigen testing will serve as a supplementary diagnostic tool to the regular nucleic acid testing, according to local health authorities.

The province reported 895 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 266 asymptomatic carriers on Sunday, the provincial health commission reported on Monday.

Of the confirmed cases, 453 were found in Jilin city, 430 in Changchun, seven in Siping, four in Yanbian and one in Songyuan.

Of the asymptomatic carriers, 167 were identified in Jilin city, 97 in Changchun and one each in Yanbian and Meihekou.

By noon on Monday, the province had also recorded 3,868 preliminary positive cases who are awaiting further examination and have been placed in closed-loop management.

To help curb the outbreak in the province, Changchun and neighboring Jilin city are accelerating the construction of makeshift hospitals.

In Changchun, the city's International Exhibition Center will operate as a hospital, Jiang Hongbo, deputy director of the Changchun health commission, said at a news conference on Sunday. It will have 1,000 beds for infected patients.

"Another makeshift hospital located at Changchun Tongyuan Hospital is being prepared," he said. "The number of beds in the hospital will gradually increase to 4,000."

On Monday, a sudden snowfall didn't stop construction of a makeshift quarantine site in Jilin city that will provide 6,000 spaces for people under quarantine.

Three makeshift hospitals with 1,200 beds were previously created for asymptomatic carriers and some confirmed patients with mild symptoms, according to the Jilin city government.

Another three makeshift hospitals with around 10,000 beds are under construction.