Medics give COVID-19 tests to residents at a test site in Heihe, Heilongjiang Province on December 30, 2020. Photo:VCG

 
Heihe, a China-Russia border city in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, announced the suspension of all bus and taxi services starting from Sunday, as the city continues to see increasing numbers of sporadic COVID-19 cases. 

Authorities in Heihe issued the announcement after the city confirmed four new local cases on Saturday. A total of seven confirmed cases and two asymptomatic cases have been reported in Heihe as of Sunday.

Heihe completed citywide nucleic acid testing of 165,925 people for COVID-19 on Saturday, said government officials at a press conference. Two silent virus carriers were discovered during the test, one of whom was later diagnosed as a confirmed case. 

More than 5,000 people in key groups underwent a second test, all of whom returned negative test results. 

Another three areas in the city were categorized as COVID-19 medium-risk areas, bringing the total number to five in the city as of Saturday. 

Heihe has suspended all mass gathering activities and temporarily closed all business venues except markets after it found one confirmed case and one asymptomatic case on Tuesday. 

The city has also adjusted its school winter holiday plan. All kindergartens, primary schools and middle schools in Heihe were closed for holiday on Tuesday, and all offline education and teaching activities were also suspended.  

All primary and middle school students and kindergarten children had finished their nucleic acid tests by Thursday. 

Global Times