Guangzhou lockdown: Covid outbreak in China city explained - where is it, how many cases have been reported?

A city in China has locked down one of its districts in a bid to control a major Covid-19 outbreak.

But where has been locked down and why has this happened? Here’s what you need to know.

Where in China has been locked down due to a Covid outbreak?

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has locked down its largest district as it tries to control a major outbreak of Covid. Public transport has been suspended in the Baiyun area, and residents are required to present a negative test if they want to leave their homes. The Baiyun district also suspended in-person classes for schools and sealed off universities, with the measures meant to last until Friday.

Guangdong province, home to Guangzhou, recently reported the largest number of new cases, with 9,085 out of a total of 27,095 cases nationwide.  At a press conference, Zhang Yi, deputy director and spokesperson of the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission, said there were 20 cases found in the Guangzhou community.

Meanwhile in Beijing, the capital reported two more Covid related deaths. On Sunday (20 November), the city reported its first Covid-19 death in over six months.

What Covid measures are still in place in China?

The recent outbreak in the Baiyun district of Guangzhou is testing China’s attempt to bring a more targeted approach to its zero-Covid policies while facing multiple outbreaks of the virus. China is the only major country in the world still trying to stop the spread of virus transmissions through strict lockdown measures and mass testing.

Last week, China announced that it was relaxing some of its zero-Covid policies, such as suspending flights from airlines that had brought a certain number of passengers who tested positive. It also cut down the time required in centralised quarantine for international arrivals from seven to five days.

Lei Haichao, the deputy director of the National Health Commission, said last week that the relaxation of some measures is an attempt to make the policies more “scientific and precise”.

Some larger cities are still holding on to a few of the tested measures, but are not shutting down an entire city, which had been done previously. For example, Shijiazhuang, a city in northern Hebei province, is testing all residents in six districts and in Beijing’s Haidian district, educational establishments have shut down in-person classes.