Beijing seals off 10 areas in first lockdown since June and July
It is the first lockdown in Chinese capital since last Covid outbreak in June and July
BEIJING: Beijing sealed off 10 areas of its north-eastern Shunyi district yesterday, the first lockdown in the Chinese capital since the last coronavirus outbreak in the months of June and July.
The city has reported 16 infections and three asymptomatic cases since Dec 18, when the first cases were found.
Most of the cases were in Shunyi, which has banned couriers from entering residential compounds.
Six villages, three buildings and one industrial zone were among the areas locked down, a Beijing municipal official told a news conference.
China reported 27 cases on Monday, up from 21 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said yesterday.
The National Health Commission said in its daily online bulletin that 12 of the new cases were imported infections originating from abroad. The 15 locally transmitted cases came from the north-eastern province of Liaoning and Beijing.
While Beijing's new cases are modest in number compared with June and July, municipal authorities have beefed up steps to rein in the coronavirus, which has surfaced in three districts, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been tested.
EMERGENCY MODE
"The capital's Covid prevention and control (efforts) need to initiate emergency mode," a city spokesman said at the news conference.
The Beijing government said it was cancelling large-scale gatherings such as temple fairs and sporting events, and controlling the size of offline events such as annual parties.
On Sunday, it said it would increase the number of carriages in the metro system to spread out commuters, and limit attendance at scenic spots and entertainment venues to 75 per cent capacity.
Live music events have been cancelled and a New Year's Day light show was called off.
Educational institutions, from primary schools to the prestigious Tsinghua University, have barred unnecessary entry of outsiders.
Primary school pupils and some students from middle schools will also start winter holidays by up to two weeks earlier next month, a peak travel period before the Chinese New Year in mid-February.
Beijing has also urged residents to stay home during the holidays, with officials in its northern district of Yanqing turning on loudspeakers to advise residents not to travel outside the region. - REUTERS
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