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Updated September 18th, 2021 at 14:23 IST

‘Latest COVID hotspot’: Chinese city tells residents to ‘stay home,’ closes venues

Health authorities in China banned all non-essential movement and travel to airports in neighbouring Guangdong provinces due to the COVID-19 resurgence.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
China
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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Chinese district of Xiamen, in the southeastern province of Fujian on Friday, enforced a stringent lockdown ordering 4.5 million residents to ‘stay at home,’ and banning the social gatherings as several cases of the more transmissible Delta variant emerged. Health authorities banned all non-essential movement and limited travel to several airports in neighbouring Guangdong province – including in Zhuhai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou due to the COVID-19 resurgence. The Chinese government ordered the shut down of schools and universities to conduct rigorous citywide testing in its strict zero-tolerance approach, state-run media outlets reported. 

Beijing’s coastal city of Xiamen is a manufacturing hub for electronic components from companies including ABB Ltd. and Schneider Electric SE that witnesses a number of employees and a heavy IT crowd, according to the city’s almanac. Health authorities ordered banned workers from leaving their homes as dozens of Delta cases were detected. In an attempt to curb a community outbreak, health officials shut down the public venues including restaurants, cinema halls, bars, nightclubs, gyms, and public libraries as over 103 cases of the coronavirus were detected in at least three Chinese cities of Putian, Quanzhou, and Xiamen in Fujian Province, according to state-run media reports. 

Areas 'declared high risk', gathering banned

Some of the areas in Xiamen City were declared high risk with more stringent COVID-19 measures. This included East of Huli Industrial Park, Xinmin Town, Tong'an District, west of Tongming Road, south of Ji'an Road, and north of Jixian Road, state media reported. Other high-risk areas of transmission included the Xianyou County, Putian City, and the Fengting Village where authorities implemented tight controls banning all nonessential movement and asking residents to remain under home confinement. In the Putian and Xiamen districts, health officials were seen conducting door-to-door testing for all residents amid localized movement ban and gathering restrictions.

In Xiamen, public transportation operations such as the long-distance bus services and inter-city taxi services were suspended with immediate effect. All passengers at the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) and Xiamen Railway Station were asked to produce a negative COVID-19 test taken in the last 48 hours before travel. All businesses were shuttered and office employees were issued guidance to work from home amid fears of a fresh COVID-19 outbreak. 

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Published September 18th, 2021 at 14:23 IST

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