BEIJING (AP) – Shanghai has shut down two of China’s most famous hospitals after it was linked to new coronavirus cases.
Outpatient services have been suspended at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Renji Hospital. They were cordoned off along with some surrounding residential communities.
After months of oppression of small clusters with mass tests, isolation and social distance, China has seen outbreaks grow this winter, mainly in its icy north. The National Health Commission announced on Friday that 103 new cases had been detected in the past 24 hours.
Locksmiths have also been set up in parts of Beijing and other cities following outbreaks, schools are leaving early and citizens have been told to stay home for next month’s New Year holidays. China hopes to vaccinate 50 million people against the virus by mid-February.
In Shanghai, six of the cases were reported on Friday. The two hospitals were locked up after suspected cases were found with them on Wednesday and Thursday. It is not immediately clear whether additional cases have been linked to the hospitals.
The far north of Heilongjiang province reported 47 new cases, followed by Jilin just south with 19 and Hebei province just outside Beijing with 18. Beijing itself recorded three new cases.
Chinese hospitals currently treat 1,674 patients for COVID-19, of which 80 are in a serious condition, while another 929 are observed to test positive without showing symptoms.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region,
South Korea reported its smallest daily increase in coronavirus infections in two months, as officials expressed cautious hope that the country would begin to recover from its worst surge in the pandemic. The 346 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Friday brought the national case to 74,262, including 1,328 deaths. The agency said 240 of the new infections come from the greater Seoul region, home to half of the country’s 51 million people, who were hit hardest during a week-long boom in broadcasts that began in mid-November. Health authorities have been making decisions about private social gatherings since the end of December, including fines for restaurants that have accepted large groups of meals. After peaking at 1,241 on Christmas Day, daily new infections have dropped to about 400 to 600 in recent weeks, and officials have removed some of the rules for social distance.
Myanmar received its first consignment of COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, a gift of 1.5 million doses from India. The vaccine was developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and is manufactured under license in India. India has started shipping the vaccine stock to several countries, including neighboring Bangladesh, which has received 2 million doses. India’s delivery of vaccine comes after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised a donation of 300,000 doses of his own vaccine during a visit to Myanmar last week. The gifts by India and China are examples of what is called vaccination diplomacy in a country where the two powers are fiercely fighting for influence. Myanmar’s Ministry of Health on Thursday announced 446 new cases of the coronavirus, along with 16 new deaths. A total of 136,166 cases were reported, including 3,013 deaths. ‘In the coming weeks we will have another group of vaccines from other countries. “Some bought us,” said Tun Myint, a public health official. The Indian embassy said Myanmar has signed an agreement with vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India to obtain additional doses.