SHANGHAI—A handful of local COVID-19 cases in eastern parts of China have prompted Shanghai city to limit tourism activities and a nearby city to cut public transport services, as the Chinese regime insists on zero tolerance against letting clusters spread.
National health officials had said earlier this month that China’s aim was not to remain at zero infections but to make sure local clusters were detected and contained as quickly as possible.
Shanghai has suspended travel agencies from organizing tourism that involves trips between the city and other province-level regions.
The financial hub of 24.9 million residents has sealed up a few residential compounds deemed of higher infection risk, and a number of local hospitals have halted some face-to-face services to comply with COVID-19 control.
Beijing city’s annual marathon was canceled, its organizing committee said on Friday, citing concerns of virus transmission risk, without referring to the latest cases.
The committee said last month that the event, previously scheduled at around the end of October, had been delayed indefinitely when local cases spread in China’s capital. Beijing city has not reported locally symptomatic cases since Nov. 15.
Xuzhou city in the eastern Jiangsu province, about a nine-hour drive from Shanghai, reported one locally transmitted asymptomatic carrier for Nov. 25, who was a close contact of a Shanghai infection. China counts asymptomatic cases separately.
The city of 9.1 million population has suspended its three subway lines, cut some citywide as well as long-distance bus services, and closed a few entrances on highways linking it and surrounding areas.
It advised residents not to leave town for unnecessary reasons and demanded suspensions of larger face-to-face public activities including concerts, sports events, and exhibitions.
It also required all schools to halt their offline classes between Friday and Sunday, and asked universities to tighten management on students’ requests to leave campus.
