ANYANG City, Central China’s Henan Province, has upgraded epidemic control measures, as 84 COVID-19 local infections have been confirmed since the first confirmed case was reported Saturday.

The city authority yesterday said between midnight Monday to 8 a.m. yesterday, there were 58 newly confirmed local COVID-19 infections.

The municipal government Monday evening issued orders to ban all vehicles from roads and required all residents to stay put while an epidemiological investigation is underway. The city has a population of about 5.5 million people.

The first cases in the city are believed to be linked to the same transmission chain as the existing local cases in North China’s Tianjin Municipality, which are confirmed to be caused by the Omicron variant, according to the publicity department of the Anyang Municipal Government.

Currently, all supermarkets in the city have suspended business other than selling daily necessities. Shops have been closed and take-out services have also been suspended.

In addition, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan Province, have suspended in-person classes and started to hold classes online from Monday, while all the city’s dining venues have stopped offering dine-in services, in an effort to better contain the spread of a local COVID-19 outbreak.

Nonessential public places have been temporarily closed, while the city’s supermarkets, convenience stores, bakeries, farmers’ markets, medical institutions, banks and offices will continue to provide essential services.

Passenger transport services including shuttle buses, tourist transport, intercity ride-hailing and taxi services have been suspended. Those who enter the city must provide negative nucleic acid test results taken within 48 hours and green health codes, as Zhengzhou has enforced traffic control measures.

The city also urged work units, including Party and government organs at all levels, as well as enterprises and public institutions, to strictly implement all epidemic prevention and control measures and reduce staff gatherings.

As of Monday, Zhengzhou had reported 103 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the latest outbreak, said local authorities yesterday. Currently, more than 51 million people in the city have been sampled in rounds of mass nucleic acid testings. A sixth citywide mass testing campaign was launched at 9 a.m. yesterday.

Tianjing, meanwhile, has reported a total of 97 people who tested positive for COVID-19 amid the latest resurgence, according to local authorities.

The cases include 49 locally transmitted confirmed cases and 15 asymptomatic carriers as well as others who tested positive but are awaiting confirmation, the city’s health commission said.

A citywide mass testing was launched at 7 a.m. Sunday and a total of 11,912,280 people were sampled in the testing drive. So far, the results of 7,892,591 samples have been released, with 77 samples testing positive.

(Xinhua)