THE civil aviation regulator has announced the suspension of a Philippine Airlines flight and a Cambodia Airways flight after passengers tested positive for COVID-19.

The suspension of flight PR314 from Manila to Tianjin and flight KR961 from Phnom Penh to Chengdu will last for two weeks, starting from Aug. 23, after five passengers tested positive on each flight Aug. 4, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said yesterday on its website.

The CAAC said that neither airline is allowed to transfer the original quota of the flights to other routes.

According to the CAAC policy, flight suspensions will last two weeks if the number of passengers testing positive for COVID-19 reaches five.

In another development, Central China’s Hunan Province has downgraded all its medium- or high-risk areas for COVID-19 except those in the city of Zhangjiajie after the province reported no new confirmed cases Monday, the provincial health authorities said yesterday.

Currently, three areas remain under high risk and 11 others under medium risk in Zhangjiajie, a renowned tourist city in Hunan, which had recently reported a cluster of local infections.

Several scenic spots in the province have opened to the public with strict anti-epidemic measures including limiting visitor number and adopting advance reservations.

The tourist spots have been asked not to exceed 50 to 75 percent of their maximum visitor capacity, according to the provincial health commission.

The mainland Monday reported six new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report yesterday.

Among the local cases, three each were reported in Jiangsu and Hubei.

(Xinhua)