China has sharply tightened travel restrictions to control the country's most serious outbreak in months, with hundreds of Delta variant cases linked to airport workers.
The latest outbreak in China has so far infected 400 people in more than 25 cities, including Beijing and Wuhan, since the first Covid-19 outbreak there last year. Cases have been reported in 17 of 31 provinces.
The National Health Commission said on August 4 that 71 new domestic cases were confirmed – the highest number in a single day since January. Most of the cases were in the Jiangsu province, the epicenter of the outbreak, while 15 others were detected in Hunan province.
Volunteers deliver necessities ordered by residents in a quarantine area in Haidian district, Beijing - Photo: The Guardian
On the afternoon of August 4, the Chinese government news channel reported tightening border controls and suspending the issuance of entry and exit documents for non-essential travel. Local authorities in 31 provinces and cities also issued notices advising people to limit leaving their places of residence unless absolutely necessary, and to stay away from four high-risk areas and 120 medium-risk areas nationwide.
In addition to the lockdown measures, Nanjing and Hangzhou have canceled all domestic flights, while Beijing has suspended 12 rail lines and stopped selling domestic long-distance train tickets at 23 stations, according to Xinhua news agency. The cities of Yangzhou, Wuhan and Zhengzhou have conducted comprehensive testing, with Zhengzhou requiring residents to present negative test results before being allowed to leave the city.
Several residential areas, including those in Beijing that are home to more than 10,000 people, have been locked down for mass testing. Authorities have also begun testing all 11 million residents of Wuhan.
China expands comprehensive testing in cities across the country. Photo: NDTV
Most of the cases are linked to staff in Nanjing and Lukou Airport. The Nanjing Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the staff contracted Covid-19 while cleaning the cabin of Flight CA910 from Russia. Another cluster of infections was discovered when tourists who attended a concert in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, and traveled through Lukou, spreading the disease to several provinces.
Health authorities also said that more than 1.7 billion domestically produced vaccines have been administered to the Chinese people. Although no public statistics are available, state media last month claimed that the number of adults vaccinated was at least 40%.
