Virus that has triggered new outbreaks of COVID-19 linked to a tour group of seniors from Shanghai that have affected several regions of China likely stemmed from overseas, Chinese health experts said, as more than 20 positive cases linked to contacts of the group have been reported so far.

The group, which crisscrossed provincial regions in China's north and northwest, likely came into contact with the virus which may have arrived through port cities in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, although where exactly it came from and how it came into China is unknown, health experts said, noting the prevalent COVID-19 variants such as Delta now circulating globally could survive longer on products in cold weather, which may have triggered community transmission.

Beijing on Tuesday reported a locally transmitted COVID-19 case who returned to the capital from Northwest China's Gansu Province, another case linked to the tour group that had spread the virus to seven provincial regions and cities as of Tuesday, including port cities in Inner Mongolia and capital of Shaanxi Province.

The new case broke Beijing's record of no community transmitted cases for more than 70 days. The patient was a close contact of a confirmed case from Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, surnamed Ai, who in turn was a confirmed contact of the Shanghai tour group. The Beijing case was on the same train as Ai.

A couple from Shanghai who were tested in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi on Saturday, were the first to test positive in this latest outbreak. The couple was part of the tour group along with five other seniors, and had traveled in Gansu Province, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Later, the other five tourists also tested positive in Xi'an.

Two streets in Beijing's Fengtai district are under closed management, and people from outside are advised not to visit the two streets. Fengtai district government said at a press conference Tuesday that the district will increase the frequency of disinfection in public venues, limit the number of visitors in indoor venues and restaurant opening times.

Fengtai has tracked 258 close contacts of the confirmed case, and a local school which had contact with one close contact was asked to suspend classes for a week from Tuesday. All faculty, staff and students have been tested.

Imported via ports?

The seven seniors on the group tour tested negative in Shanghai before departure, and tested negative again on October 13 in Inner Mongolia, but their road trip from October 9 to 15 went through several cities, including Ejin Banner which borders Mongolia, which is experiencing a resurgence of the virus. The country registered 1,303 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

On Tuesday, Ejin Banner reported five confirmed COVID-19 cases and the port city of Erenhot reported two, the health commission of Inner Mongolia said.

For the two positive cases in Erenhot, although they did not have direct contact with the tour group, they live in the same residential community as a hotel cleaner who had close contact with the tour group. The status of the cleaner is unknown.

From Monday 7 am, Ejin Banner had restricted movement both into and out of the region, and shut down the Ceke Port, the third-largest land port in Inner Mongolia. It would be a 48-hour temporary restriction, local officials said at a press conference on Tuesday.

An employee from the epidemic leading group of Alxa League which administers Ejin Banner told the Global Times on Tuesday that since Ceke Port has been closed, freight drivers from Mongolia are not allowed through.

He said prior to the outbreak, drivers from Mongolia had to return the same day as soon as they finished loading freight. Vendor streets close to the port were open for tourists who had green health QR codes.

Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the source of the latest infections was likely imported from overseas, as China has cleared its local infections long time ago and the sporadic outbreaks since the Wuhan outbreak were all related to imported sources.

"But how exactly the virus [this time] came to China, where it came from and which Chinese city first contracted the virus remain unknown," Wang said, noting that unknown factors may result in the further spread of the flare-up, and health authorities should speed up identifying the connections between cases in different regions and locating the source.

Prior to the new outbreak, several Chinese border cities including Khorgas, a port city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that borders Kazakhstan had reported infections since October.

Compared with port cities that have frequent personnel exchanges, dealing with outbreaks in freight-related port cities is more complicated, analysts said.

Zhang Yuexin, an expert specializing in epidemic control and prevention based in Xinjiang told the Global Times on Tuesday that the possibility that loopholes in ports in Inner Mongolia that triggered the domestic outbreak could not be ruled out.

He said it is impossible for testing and disinfecting goods to cover each corner of each piece, and previous experience relating to ports suggests the virus on goods could easily spread to personnel who come into physical contact with contaminated goods accidentally or who fail to wear masks properly, Zhang said.

With the cold weather, newer prevalent variants such Delta could survive longer, Zhang said.

The latest flare-up also reveals deficiencies in communication between cities, analysts said.

The Shanghai couple first confirmed positive for COVID-19 in Xi'an on Saturday, but their nucleic acid testing showed an abnormal result on Friday in Jiayuguan, Gansu Province, as they were preparing to leave for Xi'an.

After they arrived in Xi'an, they were informed of the abnormal results and went for another test. However, they visited several scenic spots in Xi'an while awaiting the results.

Jiayuguan health authorities should have contacted Xi'an to inform them of the couple's abnormal results, and Xi'an should have quarantined or restricted their movements through technological means, such as turning their digital health codes red while waiting for the second test results, instead of allowing them to move around with a green code, analysts said.

Precise zero-tolerance epidemic strategy

China has successfully dealt with several sporadic infections after the Wuhan outbreak with its precise zero-tolerance epidemic strategy that strikes a balance between epidemic prevention and normal economic activities.

The flare-up has seen affected provincial regions temporarily close some tourist spots, suspend transportation services and place some streets under closed management, but their measures are not one solution fits all.

Wang said that China should stick to its current epidemic strategy before it is ready to reopen to the world as the global pandemic is not under control, and as a developing country, lacking proper measures would result in lots of cases that could overwhelm Chinese medical resources.

Though there is no timeline for when China will lift border restrictions, the country will do so after meeting a number of requirements, including figuring out the efficacy of the vaccines and taking into consideration the global pandemic situation, according to Wang.

In June, Mongolia officially re-opened its borders and starting international flights to over 10 countries including the USA, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand, Greece, India and Australia thus allowing international arrivals.

Mongolia attracted 27,400 foreign visitors during the first three quarters of 2021, down 54.7 percent from the same period last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most foreign arrivals came from China, Russia and South Korea during the January-September period this year.

As early as 27 January 2020, Mongolia closed its borders with China, only four days after Chinese authorities locked down Wuhan. By the time it recorded its first case on 10 March 2020, and as the WHO declared a global pandemic, Mongolia was already shut off from the world. As a result of its prompt response to the risk, and the government’s readiness to introduce unpopular – yet effective measures – the country if 3.3 million was able to prevent local transmission until November 2020. Due to border closures, tourism has been among the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.

The management team of the National Development Agency held an official meeting with the EBRD Managing Director of Central Asia Ms. Zsuzsanna Hargitai, Regional Lead Economist Mr. Eric Livny and Head of EBRD Resident Office in Mongolia Mr. Hannes A.Takacs.

During the meeting, the parties briefed each other on their activities and strategic directions and exchanged views on possible actions to improve further cooperation between the organizations.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressed its full support for the National Development Agency's goal of comprehensive environmental reform, including e-government services for investors, promotion of the investment climate, protection of investors' interests and improvement of the legal environment.

In addition, it also expressed its willingness to actively cooperate in the development of a green economy by providing technical assistance, methodological advice, financial and non-financial support in developing a ‘Long-term decarbonization strategy’ for Mongolia, and the two sides agreed to further expand relations and work closely.

Source: National Development Agency

A region in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region bordering Mongolia closed port, rolled out mass nucleic acid tests for all residents on Tuesday morning as the region detected five confirmed COVID-19 infections that are linked to a cross-provincial tour group.

Five confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ejina Banner and another two in the border port of Erenhot were reported, the health commission of Inner Mongolia said on Tuesday.

In the wake of the five confirmed in Ejina Banner, the local authorities decided to give nucleic acid tests at 12 testing venues to all residents and visitors, starting from Tuesday morning.

All scenic spots, public venues and transportation were temporarily closed. Schools were also closed.

From Monday 7am, the Ejina Banner had restricted movement both into and out of the region, and shut down the Ceke Port, the third largest land port in Inner Mongolia. It will be a 48 hour temporary restriction, local officials said at the press conference on Tuesday.

An employee from the epidemic leading group of Alaxan region said since the Ceke Port has been closed, freight drivers from Mongolia are not allowed to pass through. He said prior to the outbreak, drivers from Mongolia had to return on the same day when they finished loading goods.

The newest information released by local authorities at the press conference on Tuesday said as the five employees from the restaurant tested positive, another two who initially tested positive were waiting to be rechecked. All the five confirmed cases and two positive cases are being quarantined for medical treatment. 197 close contacts and 85 secondary close contacts have been screened out.

Among close contacts who had the same travel history with the confirmed cases, two were individual vendors working in the commercial market of the Ceke Port, a 23-year-old man surnamed Wang and another 41-year-old man surnamed Zhang, official report showed. The two were quarantined.

Prior to the outbreak, street market close to the port were open for tourists who had green health QR codes, the employee from the local epidemic leading group told the Global Times.

Health experts reached by the Global Times said possibilities of confirmed cases got infected in the port cannot be ruled out.

Ejina Banner borders Mongolia’s Omnogovi Province. On October 11 alone, the province reported 262 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 7,874, reports said.

An IV emergency responding mechanism was activated in Ejina Banner, requiring an implementation of a slew of anti-epidemic measures to tackle epidemic resurgence, including screening out close tests, travel control, testing and disinfections.

The five confirmed cases in Ejina Banner were close contacts of two confirmed cases who were a couple. The couple had travelled from Shanghai to Northwest China’s Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Five others who were in the same tour group as the couple also tested positive for COVID-19.

All the confirmed five in Ejina Banner were working at a restaurant called Tongnange. Previously, the couple had been to the restaurant from October 12-14 multiple times.

Their confirmation made the total confirmed infections relating to the restaurant to at least 12. Another five who departed from Lanzhou, Gansu Province, had also been to the restaurant from October 12-14.

The epidemic flare-up in Inner Mongolia was firstly reported in the border port of Erenhot. As of press time, the mainland has four COVID-19 medium-risk communities, two of which are in Erenhot.

Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia attracted 27,400 foreign visitors during the first three quarters of 2021, down 54.7 percent from the same period last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Statistics Office said on Tuesday.

China, Russia and South Korea were the biggest sources of foreign travelers to Mongolia during the January-September period this year, it said.

Currently, Mongolia's economy is largely dependent on its export-oriented mining sector. Developing tourism is seen as the most viable way to diversify the economy. However, tourism has been among the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic

Oyu Tolgoi’s underground expansion has been hamstrung by delays, development issues and cost overruns for years. Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources signed a development and financing plan with Mongolia in 2015 that provided basis for funding the project — but six years on, production has yet to begin in a sustainable way.

Once the underground expansions are completed, Oyu Tolgoi is expected produce more than 500,000 tonnes of copper per year. Initial projections estimated that the mine would be able to sustainably produce copper from 2021 onwards. However, last December, Rio Tinto pushed the timeline back and said “sustainable production” was expected to commence in October 2022. The miner also said the underground expansion would cost $6.75 billion, higher than previous estimates.

On Friday, Rio Tinto again delayed that forecast and said sustainable production will happen “no earlier than January 2023.”

The company cited the impact of Covid-19 and outstanding issues around caving operations. It warned that Mongolia’s additional Covid-19 restrictions this year to tackle community transmission is set to add an estimated $140 million to the budget as of the end of September. While Rio Tinto blamed the delays and rising costs on challenging ground conditions, an independent review this year contradicted that explanation.

The Independent Consulting Group’s report, commissioned by Rio Tinto’s partners on the project, concluded that poor management was the main reason the mine’s underground expansion was running almost two years late and $1.45 billion over budget, the Financial Times reported.

The open-pit and underground mining project is being jointly developed by the government, which owns about 34% of Oyu Tolgoi, and Rio Tinto’s Canadian subsidiary Turquoise Hill Resources that has a 66% stake in it. The Anglo-Australian miner owns nearly 51% stake in Turquoise Hill Resources.

E.Batshugar, a son of former President N.Enkhbayar became a member of Mongolian parliament after winning the by-election in Songinokhairkhan district of Ulaanbaatar. According to the General Election Commission (GEC), the 34 year-old E.Batshugar received 28 thousand votes or 51.2 percent at re-polling.

The re-polling at two electoral districts of the by-election for two parliament seats from Songinokhairkhan district of Ulaanbaatar and Khentii province was held on 16 October. Other candidate Ts.Iderbat won a parliament seat from Khentii province, where he has been worked as a Governor since 2020. The 40 year-old governor has got over 17 thousand votes or 73.3 percent at re-polling.

Two by-elections were held to find replacements for D.Sumiyabazar, who was elected to parliament from Songinokhairkhan district before assuming position as Ulaanbaatar Mayor, and President U.Khurelsukh, was elected as lawmaker from Khentii province before becoming President.

E.Batshugar’s nomination from Mongolian People’s Party came after a reunion between N.Enkhbayar’s Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party and ruling party. After 10 years of separation, ruling Mongolian People’s Party has united with Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. Established by the communist founder of the modern Mongolian state, D.Sukhbaatar in 1921, the political party divided in 2010 after changing its name from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party to simply the Mongolian People’s Party. Since then, former prime-minister and president, N.Enkhbayar has led the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party.

It has been announced that State Honored artist E.Amartuvshin won Opera Star award which is also known as Opera Oscars.

He was named the world's best baritone singer and the award will be presented on December 29 in Dubai, UAE. In his previous interview, he said “The opera singer's voice is classified as soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, and the male as countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass. Three people are nominated from each classification. I am nominated for this award along with two great baritone singers."

Baritone E.Amartuvshin won numerous prizes from national and international opera competitions such as the 2nd prize and a public award for the best male singer from the XIV Tchaikovsky Competition, the Grand-Prix prize from Plаcido Domingo’s Operalia International Competition for Opera singers, the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

Ecological economist Lester R. Brown in his book “Plan B 3.0” suggested six grand strategies for overcoming the global climate and ecological crises, one of which is to restore lost forests around the world.

Forests originally covered around 60 to 70 percent of land (13 billion hectares). However, the proportion of forests has been reduced to around 30 percent (3.9 billion hectares) due to the desertification, deforestation, conversion of forest, and expansion of agricultural and pasture land due to population growth. Forests have been facing the risk of being cut down and degraded.

Forests currently absorb around 16 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Therefore, we can additionally absorb more than 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide and produce 20 billion tons of oxygen per year by increasing the size of forests by 50 percent. The humid climate created in forested territory leads to increasing land productivity and expanding habitable land, and enables us to preserve the tremendous variety of living species.

However, wouldn’t it be surprising if the Republic of Korea can make this grand plan a reality? Dr. Brown already highlighted the Korea’s history of success in forestation over the past 30 to 40 years as an actual case of implementing the strategy. And our country’s success story has already set an example for countries suffering tropical forest losses, desertification and arid progress.

There are efforts at the international level. The United Nations Environmental Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization have recently established and implemented a 10-year plan from 2021 to 2030 for restoring the global ecosystem. And the UN has set a goal to plant 1 trillion trees, urging all countries to join. The necessity and urgency of restoring the world’s forests to overcome the climate and ecological crises are increasing, And therefore, the role of Korea, which holds the key, is more in demand than ever.

Korea has engaged in the world’s forest restoration from early stages, taking a further step from its own success in reforestation. The Korea Forest Service achieved more than 8,000 hectares of afforestation in the Kubuqi Desert, China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, after painstaking efforts in preventing desertification. The project notably kicked off on the occasion of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Beijing in the mid-1990s and was implemented with the funding from Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The success of Kubuqi Desert afforestation opened the door for a large-scale afforestation project in China, the country most affected by yellow dust. However, China has now become the country achieving the world’s largest-scale afforestation in desert regions.

Mongolia‘s anti-desertification and afforestation project began in the mid-2000s. In 2005, the Korean and Mongolian government planned to establish a 200,000-hectare greenbelt with a total length of about 3,500 km. The first phase of the project was implemented for 10 years from 2007 to 2016. As a result, a total of 3,046 hectares of afforestation was completed in desert and arid regions, including 833 hectares in Lun soum, 673 hectares in Dalanzadgad, and 1,540 hectares in Bayanzag.

The second phase of the project was carried out for five years from 2017 to this year, and as a result, the construction of an urban forest covering around 40 hectares in Sukhbaatar District of the capital Ulaanbaatar was completed. Mongolia is much colder, drier, and windy as its climate conditions are different from China’s. Therefore, it is crucial to create conditions to overcome difficulties in advance. It is necessary to select tree species suitable for the local climate, secure sufficient seedlings and groundwater, and establish windbreak facilities. During my visit to the site for the afforestation project in Mongolia, I could see Poplars and Siberian elms planted in the arid land of Lun soum growing densely. The trees, which are planted in the early stage of the project and grow more than 10 meters, form a forest belt. The survival rate of Saxaul trees planted in the desert area is over 90 percent, which demonstrates the potential for reforesting the Gobi Desert.

During the visit to Mongolia, Korean and Mongolian governments confirmed the tangible achievements as well as reached a deal to implement the third phase of the anti-desertification and afforestation project and agreed to further expand and diversify it. This is a follow-up measure to the summit recently held online between the leaders of the two countries. Seoul also plans to develop this project from a bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) to a multilateral international project.

Desertification already has been underway in 73 percent of Mongolia’s territory, and forest area only accounts for 7 percent of its territory. But the achievements of the anti-desertification and afforestation project in Mongolia are a living hope for the country by showing the potential to achieve reforestation like Korea. Besides, reforestation can fundamentally resolve the problem of yellow dust in Northeast Asia stemming from the Gobi Desert, and furthermore, it is a substantial solution to the problem of humankind who are facing climate and ecological crises.

Wild sandstorms still blow in from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia in our generation, but we look forward to a fragrant forest wind blowing from the desert at least in the next generation.

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Choi Byeong-Am is the minister of Korea Forest Service. – Ed.

By Korea Herald (khnews@heraldcorp.com)