A medical worker collects a throat swab from a resident at a temporary nucleic acid testing station on a school playground at the Fushou community in Zhongshan district in Dalian, Liaoning province, on July 29, 2020. (Photo: China Daily)

The latest COVID-19 outbreak in Dalian, Liaoning province, has touched a high proportion of young people and involved many asymptomatic cases, a city health official said at a news conference on Wednesday in Liaoning province.

"In view of that, we have been evaluating cases in a timely manner and adjusting treatment solutions accordingly," said Zhao Lian, deputy director of the Dalian Health Commission.

The port city announced eight new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, all involving people previously identified as asymptomatic carriers. The total number of confirmed cases showing symptoms climbed to 52 in the past week. Thirty-four asymptomatic cases are under medical observation, Zhao said.

The city is conducting a large-scale population screening. As of Tuesday, it has dispatched 17,959 medical workers, set up 2,698 nucleic acid testing points and collected more than 3.5 million samples, Zhao said.

Indoor entertainment venues, including cinemas, bookstores, museums and gymnasiums, have been shut down indefinitely, a city government statement said.

Soon after the city reported the new outbreak, cultural and tourist sites and service venues in medium- and high-risk areas were closed. Those in low-risk areas were encouraged to close voluntarily, Jiang Wei, deputy director of Dalian's Bureau of Culture and Tourism, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Jiang said the cultural and tourist sites that continue operating will be subject to strict measures such as advance bookings, limited visitor volume, and body temperature checks to ensure tourists' safety.