China: Over 20,000 people put in quarantine to tackle new COVID-19 outbreak

More than 20,000 residents in China’s latest epicentre for novel coronavirus have been put under quarantine in state-run facilities as the nation fights its worst outbreak. According to state-run broadcaster CCTV, scores of people from villages around Shijiazhuang, located in the country’s north were sent to state-run quarantine facilities on January 13. The Asian giant, where the pandemic allegedly began, also reported a fresh fatality earlier this week, after eight months of successful recovery.

New facility under construction

Meanwhile, to counter heightening infection ahead of Lunar New Year, the country has initiated the construction of 3,000-unit quarantine centre or “centralized medical observation centre”. Earlier in the day, state media shared photographs of the construction site which showed crews levelling the earth, pouring concrete and assembling pre-fabricated rooms in farmland outside Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province.

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Health authorities have warned that the city could see exponential growth in COVID-19 infections as migrants labour return to the northern city during the Lunar New Year commencing on February 11. In the wake of the expected surge, the Xi Jinping administration has already put three of country's major cities including capital Beijing lockdown.  In addendum, authorities now aim to inoculate 3.5 per cent of its total residents before people start crisscrossing the nation to visit friends and family.

According to a recent report by John Hopkins University, China has reported 97,448 cases and 4,796 fatalities till now. With new death being reported, people have flocked to Weibo, which is a Twitter-like platform operated in China, to express their reaction using ‘New Virus death in Hebei’. "I haven't seen the words 'virusdeath' in so long, it's a bit shocking! I hope the epidemic can pass soon," one user wrote. Meanwhile, authorities in the capital city of Beijing have begun mass testing with Associated Press reporting hundreds of citizens lining up in freezing temperatures to get tested.  

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Chinese vaccination drive

The Chinese vaccination drive involves more than 25,300 sites across a reported 75 cities and rural villages, delivering vaccines in two doses about 21 days apart. First announced in December 2020, the country aims to provides both the shots, absolutely free of cost. As per a report by The Guardian, vaccination clinics have received either the emergency-approved Sinovac vaccine (for key workers) or the conditionally approved Sinopharm vaccine (for the wider population).

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Read: COVID-19: China Aims To Vaccinate 50 Million As Lunar New Year Celebrations Loom Large

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Main image: Associated Press