Mainland Sees 53 Cases; Hebei City Bans Departures

The number of new Covid-19 cases reported in the mainland's Hebei province surrounding Beijing fell slightly from a day earlier, as authorities barred people in the provincial capital from leaving in order to curb the spread of the disease.

Hebei accounted for 33 of the 37 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases reported on Thursday, according to a statement by the National Health Commision, down from 51 a day earlier. The total number of cases in all of the mainland fell to 53 from 63 a day earlier.

The province's capital, Shijiazhuang, which accounted for all but two of the new Hebei cases, banned people from leaving the city on Thursday in an escalation of travel curbs. The city of 11 million has also banned gatherings and ordered vehicles and people in high-risk Covid-19 areas to remain in their districts.

Though the number of new cases remains a small fraction of what China saw early last year at the height of the outbreak, which first emerged from the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, authorities have taken aggressive measures whenever new clusters emerge.

Shijiazhuang also accounted for 35 of the 57 new asymptomatic cases reported in the mainland. China does not classify these patients, who have been infected by the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease but are not yet showing any Covid-19 symptoms, as confirmed cases.

Total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases to date in mainland China now stands at 87,331, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.(Reuters)

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