China hits 11 million city with strict restrictions as more than 100 COVID cases discovered

Beijing – The trip was limited to a city in northern China with 11 million inhabitants, and schools were closed while authorities moved on Wednesday to snatch a group of COVID-19 cases have been confirmed after more than 100 infections.

Ten major highways leading to Shijiazhuang City, about 200 miles south of Beijing, have been closed and a bus terminal has been closed in an attempt to prevent the virus from spreading beyond the city in Hebei Province.

China’s state-run Global Times reported that all train ticket sales in the capital’s neighboring Hebei province had been stopped and Shijiazhuang’s long-distance bus station had been shut down while officials declared Hebei in “war mode.” Against the virus.

There were 117 cases in the city, of which at least 63 were reported on Wednesday. A total of 78 cases were asymptomatic, leading to mass testing in the affected area.

Unlike much of the world, China has largely brought the virus under control through strict blockages and travel restrictions. But there have been a number of local outbreaks in recent weeks, leading to mass testing and specific blockages.

Xiaoguozhuang village on the outskirts of the city was classified as a “high risk” and closed district.

Health officials said all 40,000 residents in the district were tested for the virus.

State television showed villagers being tested by staff in full suits and protective equipment, with roadblocks equipped by police and medical workers.

All schools in Shijiazhuang have been closed.

The state broadcaster CCTV showed that teams of health workers spray disinfectant on the streets and said that an emergency team of medical workers was sent to the city.

More than 400,000 residents of another nearby city, Nangong, were also tested, authorities said.

The Global Times quoted Feng Zijian, deputy head of China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as telling state TV on Tuesday that the COVID-19 strain that caused the Hebei cases was imported, “most likely from Europe,” according to the Times. .

Feng reportedly said tests were underway to confirm which variant of the disease appeared in Hebei and where it came from. At the end of 2020, a new highly infectious strain of coronavirus appeared in the south-east of England, which is now guilty of a huge increase in infections British officials in the UK have said that the option is easier to pass from one person to another by 50% and 70%.

South Africa has also identified a new strain of the disease, also thought to be more infectious than those circulating around the globe for a year and which may prove to have some. resistance to current vaccine formulas being released.

Beijing is struggling to vaccinate millions ahead of next month’s Lunar New Year’s race.