The civil affairs bureau of Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Wednesday announced eight measures to help local people after 22 COVID-19 infections were reported on Sunday, ending a record 920 days of no cases.

The bureau said it will give a one-off payment of 600 yuan ($88) per person to those living on subsistence allowances or in extreme poverty so that they can cope with the difficulties caused by the epidemic.

Xizang reported nine new confirmed cases and 18 asymptomatic infections on Tuesday, spread across several counties and cities in the region, the local authorities announced, noting that there are currently 11 confirmed cases and 43 asymptomatic cases in Xizang, including a critically ill 67-year-old female who is suffering from other underlying diseases.

The local government will provide timely assistance to people facing difficulties, including offering subsistence allowances in full, providing daily and epidemic prevention supplies, and guaranteeing the smooth running of social assistance consultation channels.

In addition, local authorities will also provide assistance for migrant workers and those who are temporarily stranded in Xizang due to traffic and epidemic prevention controls.

An official from the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Wednesday that there had only been one local case of COVID-19 in Xizang prior to the outbreak this time, which also meant that the region lacks experience in dealing with the epidemic.

However, Xizang is actively transforming designated hospitals, promoting the construction of makeshift hospitals and improving nucleic acid testing capabilities, as well as stockpiling medicine, protective equipment and other materials to deal with the epidemic.

Xizang has started mass nucleic acid testing in several major cities and prefectures. The cities of Lhasa and Xigaze and Ngari prefecture have launched mass testing for all residents, and a total of 1.99 million samples have been collected. The cities of Nagqu, Shannan, Nyingchi and Qamdo have all carried out testing in the main urban areas, with a total of 565,000 samples.

"Xizang is fully prepared to deal with the epidemic and it has the capacity to deal with the outbreak at the moment," said the official from the NHC.

Global Times