China locks down city of 9 million in new spike in cases
People line up for coronavirus tests as part of COVID-19 mass testing in a residential community in Shanghai, Thursday, March 10, 2022. China is tackling a spike in COVID-19 with selective lockdowns and other measures that appear to slightly water down its draconian “zero tolerance” strategy. (AP Photo)
PA
BEIJING
China on Friday ordered a lockdown of the 9 million residents of the northeast city of Changchun, amid a new spike in COVID-19 cases in the region attributed to the highly contagious variant. of the omicron.
Residents are required to stay home, with one family member allowed out to buy food and other necessities every other day. All residents are to undergo three rounds of mass testing, while non-essential businesses have been closed and transport links suspended.
The latest lockdowns, which also include Yucheng with 500,000 people in the eastern province of Shandong, show that China is sticking to the draconian approach to the pandemic it has applied for most of the past two years, despite some earlier indications that the authorities would implement more targeted measures.
China on Friday reported 397 more cases of local transmission nationwide, including 98 in Jilin province that surrounds Changchun, a center of the country’s auto industry. Across the province, cases have topped 1,100 since the last outbreak occurred late last week.
On Friday, only two cases were reported in Changchun itself, bringing its total to 78 in recent days. Authorities have repeatedly pledged to lock down any community where one or more cases are discovered as part of China’s “zero tolerance” approach to the pandemic.
Another 93 cases have been confirmed in the nearby city of Jilin which bears the same name as the surrounding province. Authorities have already ordered a partial lockdown of the city and severed travel links with other towns.
Officials at Jilin University of Agricultural Science and Technology have been fired after a cluster of infections were reported on campus and students complained on social media that those who tested positive were confined to school libraries and other buildings in poor condition.
The school has registered 74 confirmed cases and transferred more than 6,000 people to quarantine, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Aerial footage showed students in protective gear queuing in the cold and dark waiting to be transferred.
