BEIJING: To tame the spread of the coronavirus, regions across China are seeking people who have visited Harbin, the capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, while the city is going all-out to test its 10 million residents as it faces rising positive COVID-19 tests.
Since the first case was reported on Tuesday, the city has registered a total of 11 confirmed cases as of press time, local officials revealed at a press conference on Wednesday.
The entire province is in a state of emergency, said Party chief of Heilongjiang Zhang Qingwei on Wednesday, urging that every effort be made to win the battle against the virus. To screen out potential infections and cut off the virus’ transmission, Harbin will have all of its residents tested by Friday.
In response, regions across the nation such as Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, North China’s Shanxi Province and East China’s Shandong Province have activated anti-epidemic mechanisms to seek out people who have a history of travel to Harbin. Those identified will undergo nucleic acid tests.
Starting on Wednesday, Harbin’s Bayan county further accelerated its coronavirus controls, with the public transportation system being suspended and some communities sealed off after Tuesday’s initial measures.
Communities in Bayan are being sealed off but residents are allowed to move around within their communities. Each family is allowed to have one person go out to purchase daily necessities every two days, according to a notice released by the Bayan county anti-epidemic group on Wednesday.
– The Daily Mail-Global Times News exchange item
