COVID-19 outbreak grows south of Beijing in Hebei province
A man checks his phone in Shanghai as Shijiazhuang and Xingtai are locked down after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Photo: EPA
More than 380 people have tested positive in a growing COVID-19 outbreak south of Beijing in China’s Hebei province.
Hebei health authorities said that 40 new cases had been confirmed on Sunday morning, bringing the total to 223.
Another 161 people tested positive but showed no symptoms.
China does not include such asymptomatic cases in its official tally.
China's Hebei Province adds four #COVID19 medium-risk areas on Sunday, bringing the province's number of medium-risk areas to 21 https://t.co/xZybvwHOcc pic.twitter.com/TiXJhPXOpk
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) January 10, 2021
The outbreak has raised particular concern because Hebei borders the nation’s capital.
Travel between the two has been restricted, with workers from Hebei having to show proof of employment in Beijing to enter the city.
Almost all the cases are in Shijuazhuang, the provincial capital, which is about 260 kilometres south-west of Beijing.
A handful have also been found in Xingtai city, 110 kilometres farther south.
China's Hebei reports 40 locally-transmitted confirmed #COVID19 cases and six asymptomatic cases in the first 10 hours of Sunday https://t.co/CQEuLzEZPL pic.twitter.com/0rCDU8MIj4
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) January 10, 2021
Both cities have conducted mass testing of millions of residents, suspended public transportation and taxis, and restricted residents to their communities or villages for one week.
Earlier on Sunday, China’s National Health Commission reported that 69 new cases had been confirmed nationwide the previous day, most of them in Hebei. The others included 21 people who had arrived recently from overseas.
Beijing had one new case, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 32 in a smaller outbreak that surfaced about three weeks ago.
Almost all the cases have been in Shunyi in the city’s north-eastern suburbs.
