Another city near Beijing imposed a partial lockdown as COVID-19 infections rose, taking extra precautions even as cases across the country continued to decline.
Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of China’s Hebei province, which borders Beijing, said mass testing of residents in four major central districts will be carried out and they must stay home for three days from 2 p.m. on Sunday. It reported 25 local COVID cases for Saturday.
A worker in a protective suit takes a swab from a child for a coronavirus test in Shijiazhuang in China’s Hebei province last year. Credit:access point
Separately, the northern port city of Tianjin, which is close to Beijing, will hold massive city-wide COVID tests on Monday, according to state television. Tianjin reported 16 local COVID cases as of 4 p.m. Sunday.
Beijing reported three local COVID cases for Saturday, among 1,294 cases for all of China.
The partial lockdown in Shijiazhuang, with a population of 11.2 million people, followed restrictions adopted in other areas of Hebei province. The city of Zhuozhou, which borders Beijing, has imposed a lockdown since Tuesday, while Beijing’s neighbor Xianghe County has issued a stay-at-home order for its 384,000 residents since Friday.
A quarantine center with more than 4,000 rooms to isolate close contacts of COVID-19 cases in Shijiazhuang, north China’s Hebei province, last year.Credit:access point
Shijiazhuang has also suspended metro services and stopped non-essential business operations in closed districts.
China’s economic slowdown deepened in July, with retail sales, industrial production and investment falling short of economists’ estimates.
Policymakers have moved to boost growth after the weak data. Profits at industrial companies in China fell in the first seven months of the year as the economy continued to grapple with disruptions from COVID and an ongoing slump in the real estate sector, data on Saturday showed.
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