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BEIJINGI: A northeast China’s city of 10 million people struggling with the country’s largest coronavirus group shut down dinner services on Saturday (May 2), as the rest of China eases restrictions designed to hinder the spread of the disease.
Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang and its largest city, said it temporarily suspended food services for all restaurants, official CCTV reported, citing an emergency notice for epidemic prevention.
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Catering services operating in the city, such as barbecue restaurants and those selling skewers, shabu shabu and stew, will suspend meals until further notice and according to changes in the epidemic situation, according to the notice.
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While mainland China reported just one case on Saturday and crowds returned to some of its most famous tourist attractions for the May five-day holiday, the northern Heilongjiang province is ducking to prevent more groups from forming.
Of the 140 local broadcasts in mainland China, more than half have been reported as from Heilongjiang, according to a Reuters count.
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FILE PHOTO: People with face masks at rest near Qianmen Street on the first day of the five-day Labor Day vacation after the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Beijing, China, 1 May 2020. REUTERS / Tingshu Wang / File Photo
Heilongjiang Province borders Russia and has become the front line in the fight against the resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic, with many new infections from citizens entering from Russia.
The province has already banned entry to residential areas by non-local people and vehicles registered elsewhere. It had also ordered the isolation of those arriving from outside China or key epidemic areas.
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At the back of the outbreak, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Wang Wentao said at a meeting on Friday “we blame ourselves deeply,” according to local media.
“We had an inadequate understanding of epidemic prevention and control,” said Wang, adding that failure to test in a timely manner contributed to the groups.
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