Guangxi Covid Outbreak Grows

The National Health Commission (NHC) has revealed that confirmed Covid-19 infections in the southwestern city of Baise have jumped for a third straight day.

The city of 3.6 million in Guangxi on the border with Vietnam recorded 64 new confirmed locally transmitted cases on Monday, according to the NHC, up from 37 on Sunday and six on Saturday.

Residents of Baise have already been ordered to stay indoors when not out to buy daily necessities, while non-essential trips in and out of the city are banned under tough national guidelines aimed at quickly quelling Covid outbreaks.

The city has also suspended non-essential businesses, schools and public transport, and delayed opening of ports of entry along its international border.

Baise is a major aluminium producer and the government-backed consultancy, Antaike, said the restrictions have seen transport disruptions at some manufacturers.

Concerns about production disruptions helped lift London aluminium prices to a near four-month high on Tuesday.

Nationwide, the NHC reported 105 new confirmed cases on February 7, up from 79 a day earlier.

Excluding imported infections, 65 were locally transmitted, with Baise accounting for all but one, compared with 45 a day earlier. (Reuters)