China: Lockdown imposed in Fenyang amid surge in COVID-19 cases after national holiday

The number of new Covid-19 cases each day surged over the weeklong vacation, prompting towns in China to impose further lockdowns and travel restrictions in front of a crucial Communist Party gathering in Beijing the following week. When it comes to containing the illness, China is one of the few countries that is still using extreme measures.

Fenyang, a city in the Shanxi province of northern China, went into lockdown on Monday after a preliminary positive case was identified in citywide testing the day before, according to official broadcaster CCTV.

Almost the course of around 12 days, Hohhot has reported over 2,000 cases. Hohhot, the capital of the neighbouring Inner Mongolia province, recently stated that as of Tuesday, both non-local cars and visitors will be banned from entering the city.

In preparation for a once-every-five-years party conference that begins this Sunday, the long-ruling Communist Party is especially worried.

Authorities urged residents to remain in their respective towns and provinces for the duration of the annual National Day holiday that started on October 1.

However, the average number of new cases per day is now about 1,800, up from 600 at the beginning of the hiatus.

Their tight "zero-Covid" stance has taken an economic toll, especially on small enterprises and temporary employees, but leaders don't want a huge epidemic to put a shadow over congress.

The meeting has been welcomed by many in China who are hoping for a softening of the government's pandemic stance.

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There have been reports of outbreaks all around China, but the worst of them have been in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang in the country's extreme west. Every day, hundreds of new instances are reported to both services.

There has been a small but increasing number of instances in both Beijing, the nation's capital, and Shanghai, where citizens underwent lengthy lockdowns earlier this year.

Recently, two neighbourhoods in Shanghai have announced the closing of movie theatres and other leisure businesses.

Many Chinese now routinely wait in line for free virus tests many times per week; in Beijing and other cities, a negative test result within 72 hours is required to access parks, office buildings, stores, and other public venues.

(With inputs from PTI)