China: Over 20,000 villagers put under quarantine as Covid-19 transmission rises sharply
A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab sample from a middle school student during a mass nucleic acid testing following a recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Xingtai, Hebei province, China
More than 20,000 rural residents in China's latest epicentre of the novel coronavirus have been put under quarantine in state-run facilities as the nation fights the worst outbreak since March 2020.
The National Health Commission on Friday reported 144 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, the highest number of cases since March last year and most of the infections are confirmed in Hebei province, where over 22 million people are already in lockdown.
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Over 20,000 people from villages around Shijiazhuang have been sent to state-run quarantine facilities on Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV confirmed.
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The state broadcaster also said that the villagers are shifted into hotels with family members accommodated in different rooms.
A big new "centralised medical observation centre" is also been in works with more than 3,000 makeshift beds to isolate those people who are vulnerable to the virus.
The virus transmission could rise at an even rapid pace as several migrant workers are expected to return to these villages for the national Lunar New Year holiday beginning next month.
On Thursday, China also confirmed the first death from Covid-19 in eight months on a day when a team of the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived in Wuhan to find the virus's origins.