(Yicai Global) Aug. 31 -- Alibaba Group Holding has reopened all 21 of its Hema Fresh grocery stores in Shenzhen after they were shut when a worker was diagnosed with Covid-19 in mid-August, the Chinese e-commerce giant said today.

The outlets were closed for 17 days from Aug. 15 for general disinfection and testing of staff and produce, the Hangzhou-based firm said. Twenty stores reopened for business on Aug. 27 and Aug. 29 and the last one will start operating again tomorrow.
A woman who worked at a Hema store in the southern Chinese metropolis was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Aug. 14. Two other employees in the same store and three

family members of the confirmed case also tested positive and were identified as being asymptomatic.

Only three cases of the novel coronavirus were found at its stores, and no other traces of the virus have been found on merchandise or the shop environment, Hema said. Since the discovery, the Shenzhen government has tested 743,000 people and reported no new cases.

Editor: Kim Taylor