More cities in Hebei Province — which has become a COVID-19 hotspot — entered into seven-day lockdowns with testing for all residents underway.
The cities of Langfang, Bazhou and Sanhe began lockdowns today, their respective city governments announced.
Residents were urged to stay in their homes except to receive free nucleic acid tests.
Sanhe, separated from Beijing by only a river, is 25 kilometers away from Beijing Capital International Airport. Those who normally commute between Sanhe and Beijing for work were advised to work from home.
As of yesterday, there were 305 locally transmitted and two imported cases in Hebei hospitals.
A total of 227 locally transmitted and five imported asymptomatic cases are under medical observation.
A 24-member medical team from the Tianjin Municipality rushed to Xingtai City in Hebei to help with pre-hospital transfer of COVID-19 patients. The team is made up of emergency treatment workers, administrative officers and logistical support workers and took five negative pressure ambulances, two medical supply vehicles and a command vehicle.
The outbreak in Hebei will be brought under control within a month, said Zhang Wenhong, Shanghai's top infectious disease expert and the leader of the medical team treating the city's COVID-19 patients, adding that China has the world's most powerful intervention strategy to contain the virus.
Hebei's provincial capital Shijiazhuang is already under lockdown, as it has the most COVID-19 cases in the province.
