China quarantines 1.5 million people out of a third due to coronavirus outbreak

The authorities of the city of Heihe, in the north of China, announced containment measures due to the latest outbreaks of coronavirus covid-19, which had already caused the closure of two other cities so far.

In a statement published on the social network WeChat, the authorities of Heihe confirmed today that some districts of the city have been considered “medium risk” of contagion.

This city, which has a million and a half inhabitants and is located on the border that the northeastern province of Heilongjiang It has with Russia, thus joining other towns such as Ejin (north) and Lanzhou (center), which have been confined in recent days by a nationwide outbreak that already leaves more than 340 active cases.

The measures go through a confinement of residential complexes, in which departures are restricted to a single person per household every two days, and by the prohibition of any mass gathering in the city.

Temperature measurements and being in possession of a green QR code in mobile monitoring applications will also be required – which guarantees that a person is not infected or has not been in contact with infected people – to be able to enter any public place.

The local government, which also announced roadblocks to prevent residents from leaving, said Heihe must now prepare to “fight a difficult battle.”

Despite the fact that until last midnight local time (16:00 GMT on Thursday), there were only 10 active positive cases in Heihe, the authorities thus hope to nip the expansion of the coronavirus.

The current outbreak was detected in mid-October as a result of a group of retirees traveling to tourist areas in the provinces of Gansu, Inner Mongolia (north) and Shaanxi (center) and, according to health authorities, is caused by the delta variant , considered more contagious.

Despite the fact that more than 2,250 million doses of vaccines have already been administered among the Chinese population, of 1,411 million inhabitants, the authorities continue their zero tolerance policy against covid, which implies selective confinements and massive coronavirus tests in all those areas where cases are detected.

According to the accounts of the National Health Commission, since the beginning of the pandemic, 97,002 people have been infected in the country, among whom 91,665 have managed to heal and 4,636 died.

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