The city of Baise, which has a population of 3.5 million in southern China, has been placed under quarantine after COVID-19 cases emerged as the country hosts the Winter Olympics.
Posted at 9:41 p.m.
Since Sunday evening, residents can no longer leave the locality and those who live in so-called risk areas (where cases have been discovered) are prohibited from leaving their homes, the town hall announced.
The city, whose name is pronounced “Baille-seu” and which is located about 100 kilometers from the border with Vietnam, reported on Sunday 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 of local origin. A number of “imported” cases have also been announced.
A screening of residents was organized in the process, said the authorities.
China has been pursuing a zero COVID-19 strategy since the start of the epidemic, which consists of doing everything to limit the occurrence of new cases, generally only a few dozen per day.
If these figures may seem derisory compared to those recorded daily in other parts of the world, they push the power to redouble their vigilance when the city of Beijing organizes the Winter Olympics until February 20.
All foreign participants are confined to a sanitary bubble sealed off from the rest of the Chinese capital.
The locality of Baise is located some 2500 km from the nearest Olympic venues.
In December, 13 million inhabitants had been placed in strict quarantine in Xi’an (center), after an epidemic rebound.
The management of the confinement in the city, famous for its underground army of the First Emperor, had been the subject of criticism, with residents complaining of a lack of supplies. An eight-month-pregnant woman had also lost her baby because she could not be admitted to a hospital.
In total, China reported 79 cases of COVID-19 on its territory on Monday, including 34 imported cases.
Separately, more than 300 positive cases have been counted in the Olympic bubble since January 23, forcing those concerned to place themselves in isolation.