In stark contrast to the loosening of restrictions amid high infection rates in the United States and parts of Europe, nearly 400,000 people have been subjected to strict confinement in Anxin County, central Hebei Province, near Beijing, after only 18 new cases were registered. detected
Authorities announced in a statement Sunday that “all villages, communities and buildings will be completely closed” in Anxin. Families can only send one person per household outside to buy supplies once a day, and all outside vehicles are prohibited.
Authorities quickly imposed a blockade on 11 residential complexes near the market, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. Residents were monitored for temperature and reported daily, and food and daily necessities were delivered.
Beijing also launched mass nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus, establishing 193 sampling booths across the city. More than 76,000 people were evaluated within 48 hours after the group was detected.
Speaking to CNN in May, China’s top respiratory expert Dr. Zhong Nanshan warned that China still faces the “great challenge” of a possible return of the virus, and authorities should not be accommodating.
“Most … the Chinese at this time are still susceptible to Covid-19 infection, due to a lack of immunity,” Zhong said. “We are facing a great challenge, it is not better than the foreign countries that I create at the moment.”
Efforts to contain the outbreak in Beijing appear to have been successful thus far, again demonstrating the effectiveness of blockades, social distancing, and the use of masks combined with widespread testing. On Sunday, only eight new cases were detected in the city, compared to dozens just a week ago.
Nearly 8 million Beijing residents had been screened for the coronavirus, local authorities said on Sunday, and the number of daily tests increased from 40,000 to more than 450,000.
CNN’s Nectar Gan contributed reporting.
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