China locks down third city, raising affected to 20 million

BEIJING — A 3rd Chinese metropolis has locked down its residents due to the fact that of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the fig confined to their homes successful China to astir 20 cardinal people.

It wasn’t wide however agelong the lockdown of Anyang city, location to 5.5 million, would past arsenic a announcement said it was being done to facilitate wide investigating but did not bespeak if it would extremity erstwhile the investigating is completed.

Another 13 cardinal radical are locked down successful the metropolis of Xi’an and 1.1 cardinal successful Yuzhou.

The lockdown of Anyang followed the confirmation of 2 cases of omicron connected Monday that are believed to beryllium linked to 2 different cases recovered Saturday successful the metropolis of Tianjin. It appears to beryllium the first time omicron has dispersed successful China beyond radical who arrived from overseas and their contiguous contacts.

Residents are not allowed to permission their homes, non-essential vehicles are banned from streets and stores person been ordered unopen but for those selling necessities, according to a metropolis announcement shared by authorities media precocious Monday.

Xi’an and Yuzhou are some battling the delta variant and neither has reported immoderate omicron cases. About 2,000 radical person been infected successful Xi’an, an past superior that is location to the Terracotta Warrior ruins, successful what is by acold the largest outbreak successful China.