China registers most daily Covid cases since September, prompting soft lockdowns to contain virus spread

A fresh outbreak of Covid has been recorded in China. One new infected person has been found in Beijing, while the most recent cases, in an Inner Mongolia city, led authorities to impose a lockdown on its 76,000 residents.

Beijing has become the latest city to report a fresh coronavirus case. On Tuesday, officials there said they had identified one new Covid-19 infection in the capital.

Meanwhile, as of Tuesday, authorities in Erenhot city in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have registered a total of four Covid-19 cases since October 13; two cases were recorded on Monday. To contain the spread, citizens have been ordered not to leave their residential compounds unless it is absolutely necessary.

No vehicles are allowed into and out of the city, unless they have been given official clearance, the Erenhot health authority said in a statement on Monday. Indoor public venues such as cinemas, internet cafes and gyms have also been closed while activities at tourist sites and places of religious significance are also suspended. 

On Monday, five cases were reported in the north-western city of Xian in Shaanxi province. Those entering the city from outside the province must show proof of negative test results within 48 hours if they wish to visit tourist sites or stay at hotels. Some tourist amenities have been temporarily closed to allow officials to carry out disinfection.

Residents in north-western Yinchuan in the Ningxia region have been told not to leave town unless necessary, while public venues were closed in two areas deemed at highest risk. This came after one case was reported on October 18, according to National Health Commission data.

The southern city of Changsha in Hunan province also registered one case on Monday.

Nine cases recorded on Monday were domestically transmitted, the highest since the end of September. Authorities in China do not include asymptomatic cases in their count. There was no mention as to whether the isolated cases were of variants of concern.

According to official statistics, China is yet to register 100,000 Covid-19 cases. There have been 4,636 recorded deaths from the virus since 2019.

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