China placed nearly 1.2 million residents in lockdown on Tuesday in the central city of Yuzhou after three people in the city tested positive for asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.
Residents are required to stay home, and residential communities within the city are required to post sentries at their gates. Public transportation, shopping malls, and tourist destinations have already been closed in the city.
“So far, the source of the virus is unknown, the number of cases is unclear. … The virus control and prevention situation in our city is very severe,” authorities said in a statement obtained by Reuters. “To curb and quash the epidemic within the shortest amount of time is a high-priority political task facing all officials and people in the city.”
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Yuzhou joins the northern city of Xi’an where 13 million residents have been in a firm lockdown for two weeks. The city has had over 1,700 cases since Dec. 9, 2021, with strict lockdown laws that include a negative COVID-19 test in order to get medical treatment, except in the case of COVID-19. Cars are also not allowed out on the roads except for emergency response vehicles.
China reported 175 new cases of the virus on Tuesday. Despite the low COVID-19 numbers for China compared to the rest of the world, the numbers are the highest they have been since March of 2020. China has had a total of 131,315 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, with 5,699 deaths, according to the World Health Organization,
The stay-at-home orders are part of Beijing’s “Zero COVID” approach ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics next month. Athletes have already begun arriving in the country ahead of the games.
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The United States issued a diplomatic boycott against the Beijing Olympics last month in response to alleged human rights violations occurring in the country’s northwestern region. The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and Lithuania have also joined the U.S. in the boycott. Athletes will still represent the countries in the games, but government officials will not be present.
