Shijiazhuang suspends major transport links with outside...
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Staff
workers stop a vehicle at an expressway check point in the Gaocheng
district of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province on the night of Jan 5, 2021.
[Photo by Zhao Jie/For China Daily]
Latest updates on COVID-19 outbreak in Hebei province
- Gaocheng district in Shijiazhuang became a high-risk area for COVID-19 infection.
- Shijiazhuang has suspended major transport links with outside and started citywide testing of all its 10 million residents.
- An expert panel led by Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission, has arrived in Hebei to curb the outbreak.
- All kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in Shijiazhuang suspend face-to-face classes starting from Wednesday.
- Province entered a "state of war" against virus.
- Residents are encouraged to delay or cancel weddings to prevent infections.
Shijiazhuang in North China's Hebei province has suspended major
transport links outside city to lower the risk of virus spread, as
confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city continued to surge.
The suspended methods of transport include long-distance buses,
shuttle buses between an international airport and its downtown center
and neighboring areas, as well as expressways.
Shijiazhuang Passenger Terminal Station, a major center for
cross-city buses, will stop operations on Wednesday and all tickets
bought for buses between Jan 1 and Jan 16 will be refunded, according to
its notice.
Many expressways that cross Hebei have also closed their entrances.
Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport, located in Zhengding
county and about five kilometers from villages found to have confirmed
COVID-19 cases, has suspended shuttle buses linking the airport with the
city's downtown and neighboring areas since Wednesday morning.
Normal air travel has not yet been suspended. Passengers are advised to take taxis or drive themselves to or from the airport.
Hebei province reported 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 43
asymptomatic carriers on Wednesday, all locally transmitted, according
to the provincial health commission.
Among the new confirmed cases, 19 are in Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital city, and five were asymptomatic carriers reported before. Among the 43 new local asymptomatic cases, 41 are in Shijiazhuang.
The province has reported new local cases for four consecutive days
since this new outbreak of COVID-19 was discovered on Sunday.
Gaocheng district in Shijiazhuang became a high-risk area for
COVID-19 infection, the only such designation on the Chinese mainland,
as the province adopted stricter measures to control the virus,
including mass testing and suspending classes.
Experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Health Commission have arrived in Shijiazhuang city and Xingtai city to curb the latest outbreak, said Feng Zijian, deputy director of the China CDC.
Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, has started citywide testing of all of its 10.39 million residents on Wednesday.
In Nangong, where confirmed cases were also found, the local
government started mass testing for its around 500,000 residents on
Sunday.
Hebei has seen COVID-19 cases surge since it reported the first confirmed case on Sunday in the latest outbreak.
The source of the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Hebei is imported from
overseas, and is highly likely to be from Europe, Feng said in an
interview with China Central Television on Tuesday.
The cases in Shijiazhuang, Xingtai and Nangong have epidemiological
connections, he said, adding that they were likely to have been infected
from the same source.
The province announced on Tuesday that it has entered a state of war against the virus.
The provincial civil affairs department called for people to cancel or delay weddings to prevent COVID-19 infections in a circular released on Wednesday.
Overseas is source of latest COVID-19 outbreak in Hebei
The
source of the latest COVID-19 outbreak in North China's Hebei province
is overseas, and it's highly possible it was imported from Europe, Feng
Zijian, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, said on Tuesday night on a program with China Central
Television. Cases in Shijiazhuang and Xingtai have epidemiological
connections and are likely to have been infected from the same source,
he acknowledged.
A staff member disinfects the stairs at a movie theater in Handan, North China's Hebei Province, July 19, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)
"The number of COVID-19 cases is still increasing
in Hebei, which means that the infection has been going on for a while
without being detected," he said.
Experts from the center and National Health Commission arrived in Shijiazhuang and Xingtai to assist in epidemic intervention.
Hebei
has seen COVID-19 cases surge since it reported the first confirmed
case on Sunday in the latest outbreak. The province reported 14 new
confirmed cases and 30 new asymptomatic carriers on Tuesday, all locally
transmitted, bringing the total number of recently confirmed cases in
the province to 19, according the provincial health commission.
The cases are centered in Shijiazhuang and Xingtai cities.
Beijing adopts ‘14+7’ policy, extending quarantine period to up to 3 weeks
A community worker (L) measures body temperature for a resident at the entrance of the Hongcheng Huayuan residential compound on Wangquan Street, Shunyi District, Beijing, capital of China, on Dec. 29, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)
Beijing tightened its quarantine and medical
observation measures for travelers from outside of the city, requiring
observation period for arrivals from overseas, which is 14 days, to be
extended by another seven days if environment or people on their flights
tested positive.
The new measures came after several Chinese
cities including the capital reported domestic cases caused by imported
cases that were confirmed after the 14-day quarantine period.
According
to the measures published by Beijing government officials at Tuesday's
media briefing, arrivals from overseas have to undergo a seven-day
observation after completing 14-day concentrated quarantine if
environment or people on their flights tested positive after the plane
landed or during their quarantine. During the seven-day observations,
they are not allowed to attend gatherings.
For overseas travelers
who enter China through other cities but wish to go to Beijing, they are
allowed to enter the capital 21 days after they enter China. If they
plan to visit Beijing within 21 days, they have to report their personal
information 72 hours prior to their arrival and undergo seven-day
observation in Beijing.
Xu Hejian, spokesperson for the Beijing
municipal government, said at Tuesday's media briefing that the measures
were put in place to prevent infection risks caused by long incubation
patients.
Beijing's Shunyi district, where Beijing Capital International Airport is located, will adopt the "14+7" quarantine measure for close contacts of confirmed cases, after the district reported 28 cases in the fresh outbreak, with some cases having an incubation period longer than 14 days, Zhi Xianwei, a senior government official of Shunyi, said at the press briefing.
Source: By Zhang Yu in Shijiazhuang | chinadaily.com.cn; Updated: Jan 6, 2021;Global Times
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