Covid-19: China Imposes Partial Lockdown In Beijing, Banning Residents From Traveling

A partial lockdown has been imposed on the Chinese capital on Wednesday, with almost 1.6 million residents banned from leaving Beijing, after new Covid-19 cases were detected.

Seven cases were reported in the city of over 20 million people on Wednesday, including six in the southern Daxing district.

According to the district; “All 1.6 million residents of Daxing must not leave Beijing unless they have received special permission from the authorities and tested negative for Covid-19 in the past three days”.

Gatherings of 50 or more people in the district have been banned, while “weddings should be postponed and funerals simplified,” the district government stated.

Officials also ordered all kindergarten, primary and secondary students in the district to study at home.

Residents of five Daxing neighbourhoods where the cases were detected were directed to remain indoors.

The report said the virus was largely put under control but a spate of small, localized outbreaks prompted Chinese officials to order mass testing, strict lockdowns, and to prepare to move thousands into quarantine facilities to stamp out a resurgence.

China reported 103 new cases on Wednesday, including the seven in Beijing. The outbreaks, which also includes neighboring Hebei province, have put China on high alert for a potential wave of cases ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

This comes after almost three million people in northeastern Jilin province were placed under lockdown on Monday after a travelling salesman infected over a hundred people.