ZCZC
BFF-26
HEALTH-VIRUS-CHINA
China locks down another three million after travelling salesman spreads
virus
BEIJING, Jan 18, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Nearly three million people were put
under lockdown in China Monday after a surge in coronavirus cases linked to a
travelling salesman in the country’s northeast.
While China has largely brought the virus under control, a sharp rise in
cases in the past few weeks has prompted fresh lockdowns, travel restrictions
and multiple rounds of mass testing.
Monday saw three million residents of two cities in northeastern Jilin
province placed under new measures, as China reported 109 new infections.
More than 19 million people across China’s northeast are now barred from
leaving their homes, and in some cases can only apply for permission to go
grocery shopping once every three days.
Authorities have traced over a hundred infections in Jilin province to an
asymptomatic travelling salesman from neighbouring Heilongjiang, where
authorities last week declared a state of emergency.
The salesman had travelled to two different cities, now locked-down, and
given healthcare workshops to middle-aged and elderly residents, according to
local officials.
An investigation has been launched into the health care centres that hosted
the workshops to determine whether their operations constitute illegal
business activities.
Health care workshops which sometimes market products claiming to boost
“longevity” have been accused of preying on vulnerable groups in China,
particularly the elderly.
The People’s Daily, a state-run newspaper, ran a commentary on Monday
lambasting the workshops as “risking lives for money, under the guise of
caring about the health of the elderly”.
Lockdowns were also extended across other areas of China’s northeast over
the weekend, including one district of Harbin, currently hosting a popular
ice sculpture festival that is usually a big draw for tourists.
But local authorities partially lifted lockdowns in two cities in Hebei
province outside Beijing — which has accounted for the majority of cases in
recent weeks — though some 12.5 million are still being told to stay home.
Over 20,000 residents of villages in the area have been sent into quarantine
in a centralized location, state media reported last week.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1555 hrs