China reported nine new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases on Oct. 18, the highest daily tally since the end of September, with the latest outbreak prompting two northern border areas to enforce a lockdown.
Under a national policy of zero tolerance of domestic coronavirus clusters, cities with new infections have quickly tracked down and tested contacts of infections and sealed off higher-risk areas.
Five of the nine new local cases were found in the northwestern city of Xian in Shaanxi province, and two were in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, data from the National Health Commission (NHC) showed on Tuesday.
Erenhot city in Inner Mongolia, which shares a border with Mongolia, advised its 76,000 residents on Monday not to leave their residential compounds except when necessary. As of Tuesday morning, it had reported four local cases since Oct. 13.
Travel in or out of the city is banned, except for essential cars with official clearance, the Erenhot health authority said.
Ejina Banner, an administrative division in another part of Inner Mongolia, has closed all entrance and exit channels, launched a testing scheme on its 36,000 population and suspended school, local authorities said.
via Reuters
