Photo: VCG

 Northeast China’s Heilongjiang has entered a state of emergency after a fresh outbreak from Wangkui county spread to two regions in the province on Wednesday. 

The new COVID-19 outbreak in locked down Wangkui county has now spread to the cities of Qiqihar and Yichun. The province reported 16 confirmed and 12 asymptomatic cases registered in Tuesday, health authorities said Wednesday. Of those positive cases, 13 confirmed cases were from Wangkui county. 

Zhang Qingwei, the provincial Party chief, returned to Heilongjiang on Tuesday night from Beijing and presided over an anti-epidemic meeting overnight, urging the province to make all-out efforts to curb the virus spread. 

After Wangkui entered lockdown, the city of Suihua, where the county is located, announced that it was putting all transportation and residential communities into closed-management mode on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Qiqihar has activated a citywide emergency response mechanism for COVID-19, and Yichun has also closed all entertainment venues and private clinics and strengthened transportation controls in the city.  

Global Times