Chinese authorities have ordered the blockade of a city of 11 million people as coronavirus cases increase there, according to reports.
Authorities reported 120 new cases in Hebei province, neighboring the country’s capital, Beijing. All but one case was found in the city of Shijiazhuang, the South China Morning Post reported.
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Beijing has taken steps to vaccinate its population, but many are concerned about the increasing number of cases in Hebei province and Gaocheng district.
The authorities have banned all residents from leaving Shijiazhuang and have also restricted the movement of residents in the Gaocheng district, which is home to some 800,000 residents.
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The head of the city’s transport department said on Thursday that Shijiazhuang had suspended all transport to leave the city.
The blockade will allow employees to continue mass testing across the city. The local government tested about two million people on Wednesday, before the blockade.
In this photo released by the Xinhua News Agency, residents fill out content forms before receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations at a temporary vaccination site in Beijing, Saturday, January 2, 2021. China has authorized its first cultivated COVID-19 vaccine. locally for general use on December 31, 2020, adding another injection that could be widely used in poorer countries, as the virus returns around the globe. (Chen Zhonghao / Xinhua via AP)
Experts are concerned that such a large peak indicates that the virus has been spreading in the area for some time.
The only case detected outside Shijiazhuang was detected in the neighboring city of Xingtai, with results of gene sequencing indicating that the case is similar to “a European strain”.
The new cases increase as Beijing tries to vaccinate most of its population before the Lunar New Year, which takes place in February this year, Al Jazeera reported.
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China is using a vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. The Sinopharm vaccine has been shown to be about 79% effective after two doses.