China's Harbin in semi-shutdown after first COVID-19 cases since February
22 September, 2021
China's north-eastern city of Harbin, population 10 million, went into semi-shutdown after reporting new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases for the first time since early February.
Three of 16 new local cases reported in China for Tuesday (Sep 21) were in Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday. The last reported locally transmitted cases in the city were on Feb 4.
Harbin, known for its minus-30-degrees-Celsius winters, on Tuesday swiftly told its residents to avoid leaving town unless for essential reasons.
Indoor venues such as cinemas, gyms and mahjong parlours were also shut, and tourist sites were ordered to limit visitor traffic at half of their capacity, state television reported on Tuesday.
The city would also suspend offline classes at all kindergartens, primary schools and high schools for a week from Wednesday, state television said late on Tuesday.
The other two, close contacts of the first case, returned to China from the Philippines in late August and were first quarantined in the southern city of Guangzhou before being quarantined again at home in Harbin.
In Fujian, the cities of Xiamen and Putian reported a total of 13 new cases for Tuesday, according to the NHC on Wednesday, down from the average daily count last week.
Vice premier Sun Chunlan said on Monday that local officials should not be blindly optimistic about the progress made in Fujian, because uncertainties remain and the battle against the virus was still in a "deadlock", state media reported.
Sun demanded that efforts to seal up communities deemed of virus risk should be stricter, according to Fujian Daily.
The four Fujian cities of Putian, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou that have reported local cases have all told residents not to leave town unless for essential reasons.
They have also locked down areas of higher risk, closed various public venues, cut certain long-distance bus services, and halted offline lessons at kindergartens, primary schools and high schools.
Zhangzhou has told local authorities to tighten approval for foreigners seeking to enter the city.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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