Xinjiang reports no new confirmed, asymptomatic COVID-19 cases for 3 days

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has reported no new confirmed or asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 for three consecutive days, as of Tuesday.

A health worker takes a swab sample from a resident for COVID-19 test in Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Nov. 1, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Twenty-six confirmed cases had recovered and been discharged from hospitals, accounting for one-third of the total confirmed cases reported in Xinjiang since an asymptomatic case was identified on Oct. 24.

As of Tuesday, Xinjiang had a total of 52 confirmed cases, all in Kashgar, and 292 asymptomatic ones in Kashgar and the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu. Sixty had been released from medical observation.

In addition to one-to-one testing in the Shufu county of Kashgar, where most of the new cases were reported, Xinjiang also adopted 5-in-1 and 10-in-1 mixed testing approaches in other parts of Kashgar to improve efficiency.

The group of people must undergo separate isolation and testing to identify the carrier of the positive sample if a 5-in-1 or 10-in-1 test is positive.

By using this method, a maximum of 2.7 million tests could be completed within one day in Kashgar, which has a population of nearly 4.6 million.

Qiu Haibo, vice president of Zhongda Hospital Southeast University who has been participating in treatment in Xinjiang for two weeks, said the proportion of symptom-free infections turning into confirmed ones is considerably low during this new COVID-19 outbreak.

"Xinjiang's prevention and control measures have made it possible for our treatment at an early stage, which is key to prevent the patients' condition from getting worse," Qiu said.

Besides providing free medical treatment, local governments also provided accommodation and catering to those isolated for medical observation free of charge.