Photo: PCP

A region of north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, bordering Mongolia’s closed port, rolled out mass nucleic acid testing for all residents on Tuesday morning as the region detected five confirmed infections in the COVID-19 linked to an interprovincial tourist group.

Five confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ejina Banner and two more in the border port of Erenhot have been reported, the Inner Mongolia health commission said on Tuesday.

Following the five confirmed in Ejina Banner, local authorities decided to have nucleic acids tested at 12 testing sites for all residents and visitors, starting Tuesday morning.

All scenic spots, public places and transportation have been temporarily closed. Schools were also closed.

Starting Monday at 7 a.m., the Ejina Banner restricted travel in and out of the region and closed the port of Ceke, the third-largest land port in Inner Mongolia. It will be a temporary 48-hour restriction, local officials said at Tuesday’s news conference.

An employee of the leading epidemic group in Alaxan region said that since the closure of the port of Ceke, cargo drivers from Mongolia are not allowed to pass. He said that before the outbreak, drivers from Mongolia had to come back the same day when they finished loading the goods.

The latest information released by local authorities at Tuesday’s press conference indicates that all five restaurant staff have tested positive, with two others who initially tested positive awaiting re-verification. The five confirmed cases and the two positive cases are quarantined for medical treatment. 197 close contacts and 85 secondary close contacts were eliminated.

Among the close contacts who had the same travel history with the confirmed cases, two were individual vendors working in the commercial market at the port of Ceke, a 23-year-old man surnamed Wang and another 41-year-old man surnamed Zhang, official report show. Both have been quarantined.

Before the outbreak, the street market near the port was open to tourists who had green health QR codes, the local group employee responsible for the outbreak told the Global Times.

Health experts contacted by the Global Times said the possibility of confirmed cases becoming infected in the port cannot be ruled out.

The Ejina Banner borders the Mongolian province of Omnogovi. On Oct. 11 alone, the province reported 262 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 7,874, according to reports.

An IV emergency response mechanism has been activated in Ejina Banner, requiring the implementation of a series of anti-epidemic measures to combat the epidemic resurgence, including close testing screening, travel control, tests and disinfection.

The five confirmed cases in Ejina Banner were close contacts of two confirmed cases who were in a relationship. The couple had traveled from Shanghai to Gansu in Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi in northwest China. Five other people who were in the same tour group as the couple have also tested positive for COVID-19.

All five confirmed at Ejina Banner worked at a restaurant called Tongnange. Previously, the couple went to the restaurant several times from October 12 to 14.

Their confirmation brought the total number of confirmed infections linked to the restaurant to at least 12. Five others who left Lanzhou, Gansu province, had also visited the restaurant from October 12 to 14.

The outbreak in Inner Mongolia was first reported in the border port of Erenhot. As of press time, the continent has four communities at medium COVID-19 risk, including two in Erenhot.