A staff member works at the grain section of Dalian port in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning province, April 8, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING / URUMQI / SHENYANG / CHANGCHUN / DALIAN - A total of 1.68 million people have been sampled for nucleic acid tests in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning province, since the city began large-scale testing on Sunday following reports of new COVID-19 cases.

On Sunday alone, more than 1.25 million samples were collected in the city.

According to Zhao Lian, deputy director of the municipal health commission, 6,145 medics have been mobilized to conduct nucleic acid tests at 1,928 test sites across the city, after new domestically-transmitted COVID-19 cases began to emerge in the city on July 22.

The city has suspended 99 bus lines and now requires passengers taking long-distance buses to show negative results from nucleic acid tests conducted within seven days.

Dalian has been providing disinfection services for all buses and trains on a daily and shift basis, said Wang Shaocheng, director of the city's transportation bureau. The city now provides more than 50,000 bus disinfections each day and over 1,000 daily disinfections for trains.

Dalian reported 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing its total new domestically-transmitted cases to 38 since July 22.

In total, Liaoning has reported a total of 203 confirmed cases, and there were 36 asymptomatic cases still under medical observation.

The city had asked residents to refrain from leaving the city. Those who have to leave have been advised to carry proof of negative nucleic acid test results, conducted within seven days. 

A person wearing a face mask enters the Xinfadi intercity bus terminal in Beijing, capital of China, on July 26, 2020 as long-distance bus travel services resumed at the bus terminal. (PENG ZIYANG / XINHUA)

61 new infections

In Chinese mainland, 61 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Sunday, including four imported cases and 57 locally transmitted ones, according to the National Health Commission. 

Out of all the new domestic cases, 41 were reported in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, 14 in Liaoning province and two in Jilin province, the commission said in its daily report.

Four out of the 61 new cases were imported while the rest were locally transmitted, of which 41 were reported in Xinjiang's Urumqi, according to Chinese health authorities

All of Xinjiang's new cases were reported in the regional capital Urumqi while all of Liaoning's new infections were seen in Dalian, according to local health authorities. The two cases in Jilin involve two employees at a seafood processing company in Dalian.

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As for the new imported cases, two were reported in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region while Fujian province and Sichuan province saw one case each, the commission said.

No deaths related to the disease or new suspected cases were reported on the mainland Sunday, according to the commission.

Ten more patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, the commission said, adding that there were 339 patients still being treated, including 21 in severe condition.

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As of Sunday, a total of 83,891 confirmed cases had been reported on the mainland, including 4,634 deaths.

Altogether, 78,918 patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals by Sunday.   

By Sunday, a total of 2,049 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Out of those cases, 1,969 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery while 80 remained hospitalized, with two in serious condition. 

No deaths had been reported from imported cases, and there were still three suspected imported cases, according to the commission.

According to the commission, 13,935 close contacts were still under medical observation.

Also on Sunday, 44 new asymptomatic cases, including one from outside the mainland, were reported, and 31 asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones.

The commission said 302 asymptomatic cases, including 88 from outside of the mainland, were still under medical observation.

By Sunday, Xinjiang has reported a total of 178 confirmed cases and 170 asymptomatic cases, and 8,795 people were still under medical observation.

READ MORE: Urumqi tests over 1 million people

By Sunday, 2,633 confirmed cases, including 18 deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 458, including seven deaths in Taiwan.

According to new guidelines issued Monday, meat processing plants are required to conduct testing of environmental samples in the facilities on a regular basis

A total of 1,495 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR, 46 in the Macao SAR, and 440 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.  

Guidelines for virus control at meat plants

China has released guidelines for COVID-19 prevention and control in meat processing plants in an effort to eliminate any potential risks of the spread of the coronavirus.

Meat plants should track workers' health conditions, report any potential infection risks and enhance their awareness of personal hygiene and protection, according to the guidelines issued by the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19.

While putting a whole-process product tracking system in place, meat processors should ask for certificates proving the meat is coronavirus-free when using imported supplies, according to the guidelines.

It was noted in the guidelines that meat processing plants are required to conduct testing of environmental samples in the facilities on a regular basis. Facilities in high- and medium-risk regions should test the environment for the novel coronavirus every day while those located in other regions should test at least once a week.

The guidelines also include emergency response measures for situations where the results of environmental samples come back positive or when there are confirmed infections.