Beijing Steps Up Covid-19 Measures Over Outbreak

Beijing authorities said on Wednesday that they will investigate all individuals who entered the capital from abroad from December 10, after reporting the biggest daily jump in new Covid-19 cases in more than three weeks.

The measures come amid what has become the mainland's most severe Covid-19 outbreak since March 2020 ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday season, raising fears of another major Covid-19 wave that could bring the country back into a debilitating standstill.

The National Health Commission said on Wednesday that a total of 103 new Covid-19 cases were reported on January 19, down from 118 a day earlier. Northeastern Jilin province reported 46 new cases, however, setting another record in daily cases, while Hebei province reported 19 new cases.

Beijing reported seven new cases, matching the total reported on December 28. Of these new patients, six patients live in Daxing district and the city's metro operator said it had shut down the nearby Tiangong Yuan station as part of Covid-19 prevention measures.

The Beijing Daily said the capital's party and government leadership met late on Tuesday and agreed to further tighten monitoring, minimise public gatherings and reduce passenger loads in public transport.

China has opted to let local governments choose their own tactics to battle the latest outbreaks, an approach that avoids the kinds of widespread shutdowns during the height of the epidemic in 2020.

Local authorities in northeast China, where most of the new cases are located, have employed a combination of measures including lockdowns, travel curbs and mass testing. Tens of millions have been put into home or centralised quarantine in Hebei, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

Songyuan city in Jilin on Wednesday ordered a lockdown for the main urban area under its jurisdiction and began mass testing. Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang province, has temporarily shut down businesses and public venues such as gyms, coffee shops, karaokes and religious institutions.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which the mainland does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 58 from 91 cases a day earlier.

The official total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases on the mainland now stands at 88,557, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,635. (Reuters)