China bans 11 million people from leaving amid epidemic – News

The Chinese Ministry of Health reported on Thursday 120 new cases detected in past 24 hours in Shijiazhuang city, capital of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, after announcing Wednesday 117 other cases of the day before.

At an evening press conference, Meng Xianghong, deputy head of government of Shijiazhuang, announced a ban on travel outside the city for all its inhabitants and all types of vehicles, except in an emergency.

The Gaocheng district of the city was declared a high-risk and completely isolated area yesterday.

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China had largely eradicated the epidemic since the spring thanks to strict sanitary measures, travel controls, widespread use of the mask and cellphone tracking apps.

The country has seen several epidemics, the most significant of them last July in Beijing, but it has managed to eradicate them all thanks to an astonishing strategy of mass testing on millions of people..

Of the 120 cases detected yesterday in Shijiazhuang, 51 were symptomatic and 69 asymptomatic, the health ministry in Biejing said, the news agency reported. AFP.

The authorities yesterday closed all schools in the municipality of a vast territory.

Also say Wednesday, the main routes which lead to the city, located about 300 kilometers south of the capital, were closed and the intercity bus service was suspended to prevent the virus from spreading outside the city.

As of noon Thursday, more than 6 of its 11 million residents had already been tested for the coronavirus, Meng said.

For health reasons, the city’s main train station has been closed and the entry of travelers is no longer allowed

The network had previously shown images of medical personnel in protective clothing at one of the stations in Shijiazhuang, alongside travelers.

“I had a test last night, but I still don’t have the results. Without that, I cannot leave the city, ”explains a young woman interviewed by the public channel. CCTV.

According to official figures, China records 4,634 deaths, more than 87,000 infections, the vast majority of them in the city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected in December 2019.