Two Hospitals Suspend Services as East China Covid Flare-Up Goes On

What’s new: Two hospitals in the cities of Xiamen and Putian in East China’s Fujian province have halted some services after staff tested positive for Covid-19.

Zhongshan Hospital Xiamen University announced Saturday that it had suspended its outpatient and emergency medical services due to the “needs of epidemic prevention and control.” Prior to the announcement (link in Chinese), a nurse there tested positive for the virus, according to domestic media reports.

On Sunday, Putian Xiuyu Hospital suspended operations (link in Chinese) after a staff member there tested positive (link in Chinese) for Covid-19 early that morning, according to local authorities. The staff member has been classified as an asymptomatic case.

The background: The latest Covid-19 outbreak in Fujian, first identified on Sept. 10, had grown to 363 cases (link in Chinese) as of Sunday, according to the provincial health commission. China reported 28 new locally transmitted cases (link in Chinese) Sunday, all in Fujian, according to the National Health Commission.

On Sept. 13, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University suspended its outpatient and emergency medical services after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. On Saturday, the hospital resumed those services.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Contact reporter Cai Xuejiao (xuejiaocai@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)

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