A staff member checks body temperature for a truck driver from Kazakhstan at an inspection hall in Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 11, 2020.Photo:Xinhua

 

Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, reported another 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday as the epidemic outbreak in the capital extended to the remote city of Kashgar, one of the westernmost cities in Xinjiang, the local health authority said Monday. 

According to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Health Commission, 16 patients in Urumqi and nine asymptomatic viral carriers were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. One patient in Kashgar, who was from Urumqi, was also confirmed to be infected. 

China's State Council has dispatched three teams of experts specializing in anti-epidemic, medical treatment and epidemiological investigation to Xinjiang. The team said they will help Xinjiang clarify the source and transmission path of the epidemic as soon as possible. 

The outbreak in Urumqi is linked to a group activity, but the actual origin of the cluster of infections is still unknown. 

Health authorities in Xinjiang only revealed that the first COVID-19 patient in Urumqi is a woman working in Zhongquan Square and was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on July 15. Other transmission paths of infections have yet to be released to the public. 

As of Monday, Xinjiang had a total of 47 COVID-19 infections, with 46 in Urumqi and one in Kashgar. There are 50 asymptomatic cases, all of whom are in the capital city Urumqi, and 3,106 people are under medical observation.