Photo:VCG

Epidemic-hit cities in South China's Guangdong Province are eyeing gradual reopening as the virus has been brought under control with no cases being reported the last ten days as of Friday. 

Residents in Guangzhou and Foshan do not need to provide negative nucleic acid test results from within the last 48 hours before they leave the province's cities since Saturday, the Guangdong health authority said.    

For other Guangdong residents except those living in Shenzhen and Dongguan, negative nucleic acid test results from within the last 72 hours are no longer required for them to leave the province, according to the authority.

The government of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, announced the reopening of the city with restrictions on Friday, requiring some closed public places, including cinemas, theaters and indoor stadiums, to reopen with a 75 percent capacity limit.  

An expert team under China's joint prevention and control mechanism have also withdrawn from Guangdong on Friday due to the situation dying down, media reported.

Since May 21, Guangdong has experienced three separate outbreaks in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan, all caused by imported virus variants including the Delta strain first discovered in India, the Guangdong provincial government said Thursday, noting that none of the cases discovered during the outbreaks have died. 

From June 22 to 29, after finishing citywide screening, the three virus-hit areas conducted another 60 million nucleic acid tests on high risk groups, no positive results were found, according to the Guangdong provincial government.

As of now, the epidemic situations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen have been successfully brought under control. In Dongguan, no community transmission has occurred due to rapid responses and timely management, the government said.

Global Times