Several big cities in China escalated COVID-19 curbs on today, with authorities doubling down on efforts to contain the coronavirus ahead of a key ruling Communist Party meeting.
In Hebei province, nearly 4 million people were ordered to stay home until the end of the week as officials rush to control a small virus flare-up.
Meanwhile, in the neighbouring port city of Tianjin more than 13 million must undergo mass testing after 51 mostly mild cases were reported.
A Shenzhen district, Longhua with 2.5 million residents closed various entertainment venues and wholesale marketplaces and suspended large events.
According to Longhua’s district authority, people must show evidence of negative test results within 24 hours to enter residential compounds, and restaurants must limit the number of customers to no more than 50 per cent of their capacity, . This new curbs are expected to expire on Saturday.
The moves followed similar measures announced on Monday covering three other districts that affected over 6 million in Shenzhen, which has fought multiple outbreaks of Omicron sub-variants this year.
In Dalian, the main urban areas with around 3 million residents on Tuesday entered a lockdown that is to last until Sunday. Households are allowed to send only one person out per day to shop for daily necessities.
Beijing has doubled down on the policy ahead of the Communist Party’s 20th National Congress, expected to take place within the next three months. China is the only major global economy sticking to a zero-COVID policy.
