Beijing: China’s latest coronavirus outbreak has spread to a second city in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. One of the 17 new coronavirus cases reported Monday was in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar. This was disclosed by the regional government on its official microblog. The remaining coronavirus cases were in the regional capital of Urumqi, where all other cases have been reported since the outbreak. It has now infected at least 47 people in this month.
Authorities in Urumqi have tried to prevent the spread by closing off communities and imposing travel restrictions. Xinjiang is a vast, thinly populated region of mountains and deserts. It had seen little impact from the pandemic that emerged from the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. The disease was largely contained within China in March.
Another five new cases reported Monday by the National Health Commission were imported.
China also said 5,370 people had been arrested for pandemic-related crimes between January and June. More than 40% were charged with fraud, the state prosecutor’s office announced. Another 15% were charged with obstruction of law enforcement, with others accused of producing and selling fake and shoddy goods, creating public disturbances, and transporting and selling endangered species.
No specific figures were given for those accused of violating quarantine rules and travel restrictions, although there have been relatively few such cases reported in official media.
Although faulted for allowing the virus to spread from Wuhan, China’s government has been credited with imposing rigid and sometimes draconian measures to contain the outbreak, and people have overwhelmingly complied with orders to wear masks, display certificates of good health and maintain social distancing.
AP