China Friday imposed a lockdown on 9 million residents in the northeastern industrial centre of Changchun amid a new COVID-19 outbreak. As per the orders issued, the residents cannot leave their homes for reasons not specified and they have to undergo three rounds of mass testing. Further, the city authorities have closed all non-essential businesses and transport links have also been suspended.
The move came on a day when the national authorities reported more than 1,000 fresh COVID-19 cases in dozens of cities, the highest single-day spike in about 2 years. Of these, 98 cases were found in Jilin province that surrounds Changchun. However, Changchun reported just two cases Friday.
The Chinese authorities have repeatedly vowed to impose lockdown in any community or city where one or more cases of the virus are reported. These measures have been specified under China’s “zero tolerance” approach to the coronavirus pandemic.