Five cities and counties in the COVID-19 hit South China’s Hainan Province will gradually resume fishing starting from Tuesday as local outbreak eyes a turning point. Fishing boats and ports in the province had previously been halted since trade with overseas fishermen as this was suspected of having triggered the local COVID-19 outbreak earlier this month.
The COVID-19 situation across the province has made steady improvement, with some cities reporting zero new cases for days. To reduce epidemic’s impact on fishermen, the province decided to gradually allow fishing boats back to the sea in batches, one official from the provincial anti-epidemic command center said at Monday’s press conference.
The local outbreak has seen a turning point, with a decline in daily new infections in the past four days. On Sunday the province registered 685 positive cases, local authorities said.
Five cities and counties are among the first batch to resume fishing – Wenchang, Haikou, Qionghai, Chengmai and Changjiang. Other seven coastal cities will also allow fishermen back to the sea when they meet the anti-epidemic requirements.