A year after Wuhan outbreak, two Chinese cities placed under lockdown

New Delhi, Delhi, India

A year after the story of coronavirus and lockdown began from China, two Chinese cities have been sealed off as authorities scramble to control the largest outbreak in the nation in six months. 

China largely controlled the pandemic after it emerged for the first time late in 2019 and mass testing, travel curbs and local lockdowns were used to control smaller outbreaks last year.

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However, Hebei province in northern China in the last week saw 17 new coronavirus infections and 183 asymptomatic cases.

Also read | Covid infections in Wuhan three times higher than official figure, study says

Most numbers of cases were recorded in Shijiazhuang city and nine cases were also found in neighbouring Xingtai. 

With the latest announcements made on Friday, residents of both the cities were banned from entering capital Beijing or leaving the province unless absolutely necessary. 

Authorities vowed to "strictly control the movement of people and vehicles", with all residential estates kept under "closed management".  

"The outbreak was imported from abroad, but the exact origins are currently under in-depth investigation by state, provincial and municipal experts," Li Qi, head of the Hebei Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, was quoted at a press briefing on Friday by news agency AFP. 

In both cities, long-distance passenger vehicle transport was suspended on Friday and highways were shut down. 

The curbs came at a time when the nation is set to mark one of its major festivals Lunar New Year for which millions of people travel. 

Chinese officials have reiterated that the recurrent domestic outbreaks are due to the travellers who returned from abroad and from imported food packaging.