China reports over 100 new daily cases as CNY holiday exodus looms

BEIJING • • China reported more than 100 new Covid-19 cases for the sixth consecutive day yesterday, with rising infections in the north-east fuelling concerns of another national wave when hundreds of millions travel for the Chinese New Year holiday.

Tough new controls in the city of Gongzhuling in Jilin province, which has a population of around one million people, bring the total number of people under lockdown to more than 29 million.

At least 11 regions in Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces have imposed lockdowns and rolled out extensive testing programmes.

The National Health Commission reported 109 new Covid-19 cases for Sunday, unchanged from a day earlier. Of the 93 local cases, 54 were in Hebei. The province has vowed to punish lockdown violations, including the illegal staging of weddings or funerals.

Jilin also reported a record 30 new cases.

Daily increases still remain a fraction of what the country saw at the height of the outbreak early last year, but officials are concerned infections could spread rapidly nationwide during the Chinese New Year holiday in less than a month.

Despite travel restrictions, the China Railway Corporation expects around 296 million railway passenger trips during the break, compared with 410 million in 2019.

Shanghai is one of many cities providing financial incentives for migrant workers not to travel home. The manufacturing hub of Yiwu on China's eastern coast is also introducing subsidies, including rent reductions, to encourage workers to stay put.

China's statistics bureau chief Ning Jizhe yesterday said the overall impact of the Covid-19 resurgence on the country's economy remained controllable. But though Xinhua warned local governments not to "cry wolf", many have been introducing fresh curbs.

Beijing, which reported two new local infections, now requires travellers from abroad to undergo health monitoring for seven additional days following 21 days of medical observation, Xinhua reported last Saturday.

Gongzhuling city said it is "strictly forbidden" for anyone to go out except for a scheduled Covid-19 test at a designated site.

Jilin's outbreak is believed to have been caused by an infected salesman travelling to and from the neighbouring province of Heilongjiang, the site of a previous cluster of cases.

Xinhua said in a commentary piece yesterday that the new clusters were caused by social activities in rural areas and a lack of awareness at the grassroots level, creating "hotbeds" for the virus' rapid spread.

REUTERS