Yunnan identifies new COVID cases

Yunnan province identified two new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the provincial health commission said on Wednesday.

All the confirmed cases were found in the border city of Ruili during nucleic acid testing of key groups and close contacts, the commission said.

As of Monday, 68 confirmed cases and 46 asymptomatic cases were being treated at designated hospitals in the province or were under observation.

Ruili began its second round of testing on Tuesday, including all residents of the city's urban districts, and by 7:30 pm had collected 238,600 samples. The city expects to complete the testing on Wednesday, said Yang Mou, vice-mayor of Ruili, at a news conference on Tuesday evening.

The city collected 2,000 serum samples from key groups, including businesspeople, in the community, where new cases have emerged. The results of 1,222 samples had been made available so far, Yang said.