Chinese city imposes travel curbs, closes public venues in new COVID-19 outbreak

People wearing face masks walk on a street after new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Shanghai, China, 25 August 2021. REUTERS / Aly Song

BEIJING, Sep 13 (Reuters) – A city in China’s southeastern Fujian Province has closed cinemas and gyms, cordoned off some freeway entrances and exits, and urged residents not to leave the city amid a local COVID-19 outbreak fights.

The virus situation in the city of Putian is “serious and complex,” and it is very likely that more new cases will occur in communities, schools and factories, the state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday.

In Putian, too, certain offline lessons have been suspended in schools and China’s national health authority has sent a team of experts to the city of 3.2 million people.

Between September 10 and 12, a total of 43 local cases were reported in Fujian, including 35 in Putian, according to data from the National Health Commission (NHC).

Another 32 asymptomatic cases, which China does not count as confirmed cases before showing clinical signs such as fever, have been detected in the province since September 10, all in Putian city.

As of September 12, mainland China, where COVID-19 first emerged in late 2019, had 95,248 confirmed cases with a cumulative death toll of 4,636.

China’s most recent outbreak, which primarily affected Jiangsu, ended about two weeks ago with no new local cases reported in the eastern province. This outbreak lasted a month.

Preliminary tests on samples from some Putian cases showed that patients were infected with the highly communicable Delta variant, a local health official said on Saturday.

Reuters graphic

The first infections found in routine tests were elementary school students in Xianyou County, Putian. Experts suspected the source of the outbreak could be a parent of a student who traveled to the county from the nearby city of Xiamen after arriving from Singapore, state media reported on Saturday.

Xianyou, with a population of around 900,000, has cordoned off some areas considered riskier and started a test drive.

The district has also stopped buses and taxis, closed a long-distance bus station and banned passengers from getting on and off the station, state media said.

Putian said on Sunday that it would stop operating indoor entertainment venues such as chess and card salons, cinemas, theaters, internet cafes and bars, as well as libraries, museums and gyms, and reduce opening times and curb visitor traffic to restaurants.

Putian residents should not leave the city for inconsistent reasons, and those leaving the city should demonstrate negative test results within 48 hours of departure.

As of Monday, the city suspended offline classes at all kindergartens and elementary schools in the city of Putian, as well as most offline classes at high schools.

Of a total of 20 motorway entrances and exits in the city, 12 vehicles have been blocked at the entrance and exit.

Outside Putian, seven locally confirmed cases have been found in Quanzhou City and one in Xiamen, both in Fujian Province, since September 10.

Reporting by Ryan Woo, Roxanne Liu, and Liangping Gao; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/13/chinese-city-imposes-travel-curbs-closes-public-venues-in-new-covid-19-outbreak/