According to reports, Chinese officials have ordered the closure of a city of 11 million people as coronavirus cases increase there.
Officials have reported 120 new cases in Hebei Province, the capital of Beijing. All but one of the cases were found in the city of Shijiazhuang, the South China Morning Post reported.
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Beijing has moved to vaccinate its population, but many are concerned about the numbers in Hebei Province and Gaocheng District.
Officials banned all residents from leaving Shijiazhuang, and they also restricted movement for residents of Gaocheng District, where about 800,000 residents live.
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The head of the city’s transportation bureau said on Thursday that Shijiazhuang had suspended all transportation leaving the city.
The closure will allow officials to continue mass testing through the city. The local government tested about two million people on Wednesday before closing.
In this photo released by the Xinhua News Agency, residents fill out the content forms before receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations at a temporary vaccination site in Beijing, Saturday, January 2, 2021. China has its first homemade COVID-19 vaccine for general use approved on 31 December 2020 adds another shot that could make wide use in poorer countries as the virus swings back worldwide. (Chen Zhonghao / Xinhua via AP)
Experts are concerned that such a large peak indicates that the virus has been spreading in the area for some time.
The one case detected outside Shijiazhuang was detected in the neighboring city of Xingtai, with results in no order suggesting that the case is similar to “a European tribe”.
The new cases increase as Beijing tries to vaccinate most of its population ahead of the Moon New Year, which takes place in February this year, Al Jazeera reports.
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China uses a vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. The Sinopharm vaccine is approximately 79% effective after two doses.