The Chinese city of Chengdu has been locked down by authorities following a covid outbreak. The city’s 21.2 million residents have been told to stay indoors and four days of citywide testing is set to be done.
In a statement, Chengdu city officials said city residents must “stay home in principle” from 6 p.m. Thursday, while non-essential employees were asked to work from home to combat a new wave of infections. Households will be allowed to send one person per day to shop for necessities, provided they can show a negative test from within the past 24 hours.
The statement further added that all residents would be tested for the infection between Thursday and Sunday. They were urged to not leave the city unless “absolutely necessary.”
There was no clarity in how long the lockdown would last. The Reuters news agency reported most of the restrictions were intended to last a few days at this point, although two provincial cities in northern China extended curbs slightly beyond initial plans.
Dalian, as well as Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province that borders the capital city, Beijing, have also witnessed millions of people being confined to their homes.
According to VoA, Chinese state media reported that the economic center of Shenzhen, the most populous district in Baoan, and tech hub Nanshan, suspended large events and indoor entertainment for a few days and ordered stricter checks of digital health credentials for people entering residential compounds.
China’s state-run news outlet China Daily reports, quoting Chengdu’s Health Commission, said that as of Wednesday there were 665 confirmed cases and 293 asymptomatic carriers under treatment or medical observation.
The restrictions are part of China’s “Zero Covid” policy which took a huge toll on the nation’s economy.
