Covid outbreak in southeast China adds 22 cases

In China, a southeastern  province has reported 22 more COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 43 in a fresh outbreak driven by the highly transmissible delta variant. Health authorities said Monday that 15 cases were confirmed in Putian city in the latest 24-hour period. Another six were found in Quanzhou city, and one more in Xiamen, suggesting the virus may be moving south from Putian. All the infections are in Fujian province, which is across from Taiwan on China's east coast.
Schools have been closed in Putian and anyone leaving the city must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test in the previous 48 hours. The city suspended bus and train service on Saturday and has closed cinemas, bars and other facilities.China has largely stopped the spread of COVID-19 but has sporadic outbreaks. One outbreak driven by the delta variant spread to multiple provinces in July and August, raising concern about new and more contagious variants.

New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, will remain in the strictest type of lockdown until Sept. 21 after the government on Monday reported 33 new COVID-19 infections. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said lockdown restrictions were working to eliminate the outbreak of the highly transmissible delta variant. “We don’t want to risk the sacrifices everyone has made and all the hard work you’ve put in by moving to Alert Level 3 too quickly,” Ardern said, referring to a relaxation of Auckland’s Alert Level 4 restrictions.

The rest of New Zealand will remain on Alert Level 2 until next week because of the risk of COVID-19 spreading from Auckland, she said. “While there is an outbreak in Auckland that continues to produce cases, there is risk,” Ardern said. The nation since last month has been battling an outbreak that came from Australia. The outbreak had grown to 955 cases by Monday with 21 infected patients in hospital and four in intensive care.