Shijiazhuang Photo: VCG

Shijiazhuang, the capital city of North China's Hebei Province neighboring Beijing, suspended the operation of trains and buses from 3 pm on Sunday amid the latest COVID-19 spike that started Thursday.

The city home to a population of more than 11 million reported 25 new asymptomatic cases on Sunday detected within the last 24 hours after conducting its third round of citywide nucleic acid testing. Of these cases, 22 are from Qiaoxi district. As of 12 pm on Saturday, the city has detected 47 COVID-19 cases, all asymptomatic.  

The city on Sunday decided to seal off four districts including Qiaoxi. Residents in the four districts are required to work from home from 2pm on Sunday to 2pm Wednesday, according to a statement issued by local authorities on Sunday. 

During the same period, all places, excluding those necessary for city operation, market supply, public services, and disease prevention and control, are required to be shut down

The new outbreak in Shijiazhuang, a city 290 kilometers from Beijing, has increased the pressure on the capital, which has been faced with imported COVID-19 infections from travelers from places outside Beijing. Beijing discovered six new local COVID-19 cases from Saturday to 3pm on Sunday.

Zhuozhou, a city in Hebei that neighbors Beijing, imposed a citywide lockdown on Tuesday. Tianjin, another city bordering Beijing, will launch mass nucleic acid testing on Monday after discovering 16 new asymptomatic cases on Sunday.

China is handling a new wave of COVID-19 epidemic outbreaks across the country. On Sunday, the Chinese mainland reported 259 new confirmed cases and 1,035 asymptomatic cases in 26 provinces.