BEIJING —
China placed 1.7 million people
under lockdown in central Anhui province, where authorities reported nearly 300
new cases Monday in the latest of a string of outbreaks testing
Beijing’s
no-tolerance approach to COVID-19.
اضافة اعلان
The country is the last major economy wedded to a
zero-COVID strategy, responding to all cases with strict isolation orders and
tough testing campaigns.
The outbreak in Anhui — where officials first found
hundreds of cases last week — comes as the
Chinese economy begins to rebound
from a months-long lockdown in Shanghai and disruptive COVID restrictions in
the capital Beijing.
Two counties in the province — Sixian and Lingbi —
announced lockdowns last week, with more than 1.7 million residents only
permitted to leave their homes if they are getting tested.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed empty
streets in Sixian over the weekend and people lining up for their sixth round
of mass testing in recent days.
The province reported 287 new infections on Monday,
including 258 people who had no symptoms, according to
China’s National Health Commission, bringing the total cases found to just over 1,000.
Provincial
Governor Wang Qingxian urged local authorities to “seize every minute and
earnestly implement quick screening” as well as rapid quarantine and reporting
of cases, in a statement published by the Anhui government on Monday.
Neighbouring Jiangsu province also reported 56 new
local infections across four cities on Monday.
Photos shared widely online, verified by AFP Fact
Check, showed hundreds of people in hazmat suits lining up in the city of Wuxi
in Jiangsu, appearing to be waiting for buses to quarantine facilities.
Some of the shots showed babies in blue protective
clothing carried by people with suitcases waiting outside a hospital in
sweltering heat.
Temperatures in Wuxi have recently reached up to
36°C.
While cases remain low relative to China’s vast
population, officials insist the zero-COVID policy is necessary to prevent a
healthcare calamity, pointing to unevenly distributed medical resources and low
vaccination rates among the elderly.
But the strategy has hammered the world’s
second-largest economy and heavy-handed enforcement has triggered rare protests
in the tightly controlled country.
China’s international isolation has also prompted
some foreign businesses and families with the financial means to make exit
plans.
National authorities announced a reduced quarantine
requirement for international arrivals last month, but a health official has
insisted the new quarantine policy was “absolutely not a loosening” of
controls.
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