Chongqing in southwestern China tussles with Covid-19
Residents in 11 central urban districts in Chongqing are being urged not to leave their districts, and people from outside are being asked not to enter unless necessary, said Li Pan, deputy director of the Chongqing Health Commission.
Li said on Wednesday that Chongqing is facing a serious challenge in Covid-19 containment, as local infections are rising rapidly in all central urban districts and spreading to districts and counties outside the region.
Chongqing reported 123 new local confirmed Covid-19 cases and 633 asymptomatic carriers on Wednesday, according to the commission.
As of Tuesday, 1,109 confirmed cases had been reported and linked to a transmission chain in Shapingba district that started on Nov 1. Infections have been detected in the city’s 29 districts and counties.
Li noted that residents can travel within the central urban city region, covering 11 districts, for example, Jiangbei, Shapingba, Chongqing High-tech Industrial Development Zone and Liangjiang New Area, but are asked not to travel to other districts and counties outside the region.
To quickly find out the hidden source of the latest infections, central areas will carry out mass testing every day, and other districts and counties will adopt epidemic prevention and control measures.
On Thursday evening, Yuzhong and Shapingba districts issued notices to urge their residents to stay at home for the next three days and reduce movement as much as possible in order to contain the spread of the virus.
Chongqing covers 82,400 square kilometers and has a population of more than 30 million.