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BEIJING: Beijing sealed 10 areas of its northeastern Shunyi district on Tuesday (December 29), the first blockade on the Chinese capital since the last coronavirus outbreak in June and July.
The city has reported 16 infections and three asymptomatic cases since December 18, when the initial cases were found. Most of the cases occurred in Shunyi, which has banned couriers from entering residential complexes.
Six villages, three buildings and an industrial zone were among the closed areas, a Beijing municipal official said at a news conference.
While Beijing’s new cases are modest compared to June and July, municipal authorities have stepped up measures to control the coronavirus, which has appeared in three districts, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been tested.
READ: China reports 27 new cases of COVID-19
“The capital’s COVID prevention and control (efforts) must go into emergency mode,” a city spokesman said at the press conference.
The Beijing government said it was canceling large-scale gatherings, such as temple fairs and sporting events, and controlling the size of offline events, such as annual festivals.
On Sunday, it said it would increase the number of carriages on the subway system to disperse commuters and limit attendance at scenic spots and entertainment venues to 75 percent of capacity.
Live music events were canceled and a light show was canceled on New Years Day. Educational institutions, from elementary schools to the prestigious Tsinghua University, have banned the unnecessary entry of outsiders.
Students in the elementary schools and some of the middle schools will also start winter break up to two weeks early next month, a peak travel period before Chinese New Year in mid-February.
Beijing has also urged residents to stay home for the holidays, and officials in its northern Yanqing district turned on loudspeakers to warn residents not to travel outside the region.
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