District in south China under partial lockdown amid COVID outbreak
May 29, 2021
Beijing [China], May 29 : The Chinese authorities have shut down parts of a district in the coastal province Guangdong, in southeast China, amid the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
Some parts of coastal city's capital Guangzhou were shut and public transport links were suspended, as the city's provincial health commission on Saturday informed about two new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, along with eight new asymptomatic cases, on Friday.
Since May 21, Guangzhou has reported five confirmed coronavirus cases and 15 silent infections, linked to a 75-year-old man with the B.1.617 variant, South China Morning Post reported.
Huang Guanglie, director of the city's health commission, on Saturday said that the authorities had to move faster as the outbreak in Guangdong was spreading more quickly than it did last year.
"In this race to combat the virus, we must run ahead and faster, so as to stop transmission, otherwise there will probably be more local infections," Huang said.
Authorities have issued a stay-at-home order for five streets in Liwan district and residents have been asked to stop all activities that are not necessary for daily life.
Moreover, all entertainment venues, indoor sports venues, wholesale markets and childcare institutions in the district were asked to close too.
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in China to date stands at 91,061, with 4,636 deaths, according to the latest figures from the National Health Commission.