Urumqi ensures medicine, food supply amid resurgence of COVID-19

URUMQI - Urumqi in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has worked to ensure sufficient medicine and food supply amid a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

The regional capital of Xinjiang is home to more than 1,100 designated retail pharmacies, of which 90 percent remain open during the epidemic to ensure a stable supply of drugs and daily protective articles, according to He Xinguo, an official with the medical security bureau of Urumqi.

On Saturday, the trading volume of Xinjiang Jiuding farm produce wholesale market, the largest in the region, reached 3,412 tons, said Liu Guangming, general manager of Xinjiang Jiuding Agricultural Products Management Co Ltd.

Its vegetable, fruit and meat supplies account for around 85 percent in winter and 50 percent of the Xinjiang market in summer. Currently, it is open 24 hours to meet the demand of local residents.

All personnel in the market have taken nucleic acid tests on July 18. From July 25 to 27, the market was thoroughly disinfected, while more than 5,400 people, including employees and traders, underwent the second round of testing. All of them have tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

More than 1,600 samples of frozen food, fresh fruits and vegetables were tested, and all produced negative results for COVID-19.

Xinjiang reported 30 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Saturday, according to the regional health commission's daily report.

Among the 30 cases, 29 were in Urumqi and one was in Kashgar prefecture. The region also saw nine new asymptomatic cases in Urumqi Saturday.

By Saturday, Xinjiang had 569 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 112 asymptomatic cases, while 14,640 people continue to be under medical observation.