Covid-19 cases pass 160 in Kashgar amid mass testing

Starting at midnight on Sunday, four areas in Shufu were identified as high-risk areas for the virus' spread, and risk levels in other townships or villages in Shufu were upgraded to medium, according to the local disease control command center.

Kashgar launched a mass testing program covering its entire 4.75 million population following the detection of a 17-year-old girl in Shufu county who tested positive for the virus on Saturday during a routine check. The girl has shown no symptoms.

As of 4 pm on Monday, about 4.47 million samples had been collected and over 2.13 million test results returned, Wang said. All positive test results were traced to residents in Shufu where the first case was registered, and results from other areas in Kashgar were negative, he added.