East China's Fujian Province reported 120 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 19 local asymptomatic carriers as of 6 pm Tuesday, said local authorities.
The confirmed cases occurred in the cities of Putian, Quanzhou, and Xiamen, and the new asymptomatic carrier was detected in Putian, the provincial anti-pandemic workgroup said in a press conference.
All of the infected have been transferred to designated hospitals for treatment.
Since the latest resurgence began on Friday, local authorities have made all-out efforts to trace the close contacts, who are all under concentrated quarantine.
As of Monday, two areas in the province have been classified as COVID-19 high-risk areas and four more as medium-risk areas.
Experts from the National Health Commission said COVID-19 was already spreading at a Putian primary school for 10 days before the first case was identified. The flare-up now has extended to two other cities – Quanzhou and Xiamen.
Epidemic experts believed more cases will be detected in the following days before reaching its peak around September 19 and warned of the risk of an epidemic spill-over to more places. But the experts are optimistic that the flare-up will likely be controlled before the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 21) and the National Day holidays.