The recent COVID-19 outbreak in Kashgar prefecture, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is unrelated to previous cluster infections in Urumqi, capital of the region, said a local official.

Gene sequencing conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and local disease control and prevention authorities in Xinjiang showed that the coronavirus in Kashgar is unrelated to an outbreak that occurred in Urumqi in July, Cui Yan, director of the Xinjiang CDC, said at a news conference in Urumqi on Thursday.

A comprehensive analysis based on current data showed that a village factory in Zhanmin township in Kashgar's Shufu county is likely to be the origin of the outbreak this time, and samples taken from the factory's production departments, storehouses and restrooms tested positive, she said, adding that the Xinjiang CDC will integrate resources from different departments and deploy advanced technologies to trace the source of the virus.

Between midnight Wednesday and 9 pm on Thursday, six confirmed cases were reported in Kashgar, all being asymptomatic cases beginning to show symptoms, Wang Xijiang, deputy director of the Kashgar center for disease control and prevention, said at the conference.

In addition, nine asymptomatic cases were detected in Kashgar during this period, all being people under medical observation in Shufu, and were connected with previously confirmed cases in the county's Zhanmin township, Wang said.

There were also six new asymptomatic cases in neighboring Kezilesu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture.

As of 9 pm Thursday, Xinjiang had a total of 78 confirmed patients and 339 asymptomatic cases — 318 in Kashgar and 21 in Kezilesu — he added.

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has stressed a science-based and targeted approach, as well as resolute measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Xinjiang to safeguard the lives and health of people of all ethnic groups.

Sun made the remarks during her visit to Kashgar and Kezilesu in southern Xinjiang on Wednesday and Thursday.

The cluster cases in Kashgar were discovered at an early stage, she said, adding that with a timely emergency response mechanism and decisive measures, major progress was achieved in containing the outbreak, and the situation is on the whole manageable.

She stressed the need to strengthen the work of epidemiological investigations and trace the origin of the virus, as well as quarantine measures, while highlighting the importance of providing daily necessities and services to the people.

Sun also called for improving nucleic acid testing with better planning and broader coverage.