COVID-19: China imposes fresh lockdowns as cases surge after holiday

Chinese cities were imposing fresh lockdowns and travel restrictions after the number of new daily COVID-19 cases tripled during a weeklong holiday, ahead of a major Communist Party meeting in Beijing next week.

The latest lockdown started on Monday in Fenyang city in northern China's Shanxi province after a preliminary positive case was found in citywide testing the previous day, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

In the nearby Inner Mongolia region, the capital Hohhot announced that outside vehicles and passengers would be prohibited from entering the city starting Tuesday. Hohhot has



recorded more than 2,000 cases over about 12 days.

China is one of the few places in the world still resorting to harsh measures to keep the disease from spreading. The long-ruling Communist Party is particularly concerned as it tries to present a positive image of the nation in the run-up to a once-in-five-years party congress that starts Sunday.

Travel was down during an annual National Day holiday that began October 1, as authorities discouraged people from leaving their cities and provinces. But the number of new daily cases has still grown to about 1,800 from 600 at the start of the break.