Separately, the publication also reported that three new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) labs opened in the county in mid-September, in order to help boost nucleic acid detection among residents.

Citing reporting by Chengdu-based outlet Red Star News, Beijing News disclosed that an individual thought to occupy a managerial role within the factory, which has since temporarily closed its doors, had said that “many” of its more than 600 workers had tested positive for the virus in the last week.

During this most recent outbreak, at least 28 of the factory’s employees are thought to have caught coronavirus in the workplace. It would seem that the majority of those infected had been concentrated in two shoe-making workshops over two different floors, the source added. 

All factory employees are now reportedly quarantining in a nearby hotel. The state-owned China Global Television Network (CGTN) began reporting live from local “quarantine hotels” on September 16.

According to the most recent data published by the country’s cabinet-level national health commission, 38 cases of locally-transmitted coronavirus were identified in Putian (out of a total 48 in Fujian province) on September 15, alone. 

Since the city began to report on the first case of this fresh covid-19 outbreak in the city on September 10, Putian has remained something of a provincial centre for the virus. In its report, the Global Times suggested that the local health authority had linked the source of the infection to the Delta variant, currently perceived to be more easily transmissible.