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Local COVID-19 cases send Harbin into semi-shutdown
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CHINA’S northeastern city of Harbin went into semi-shutdown after reporting new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases for the first time since early February.
As of 4pm yesterday, the Heilongjiang Province capital had reported 11 locally transmitted cases in the latest outbreak. The last reported local cases in the city were on February 4.
Harbin, known for its minus 30 degree Celsius winters, yesterday vowed to complete an initial round of city-wide testing of more than 10 million by today, and told its residents to refrain from stepping outside their homes, unless necessary, before test results are out.
COVID-19 vaccinations have also been suspended for three days in an effort to focus on the mass testing. The city has already told its residents to avoid leaving town unless for essential reasons, and those who do leave must produce proof of negative test results within 48 hours from departure.
Indoor venues such as cinemas, gyms and mahjong parlors 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 yesterday, state television said late on Tuesday.
It was unclear if the new Harbin cases were linked to the current outbreak in the southeastern province of Fujian.
According to state television, first of the cases was found when the person went to a local hospital for testing.
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.
Bayan County, where the three cases lived, suspended bus and taxi services and locked down some areas.
In Fujian, the cities of Xiamen and Putian reported a total of 13 new cases for Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission yesterday, 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 coronavirus was still in a “deadlock,” state media reported.
Sun demanded that efforts to seal communities at risk of the virus should be stricter, Fujian Daily reported.
Apart from Putian and Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou have also reported local cases. The four cities have all told residents not to leave town unless for essential reasons.
They have also locked down high-risk areas, closed public venues, and halted offline lessons at kindergartens, primary schools and high schools.
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