Residents line up to undergo nucleic acid testing in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province on November 23, 2022. Photo: IC

Zhengzhou in Central China's Henan Province resolved to win a must-win battle against the latest COVID-19 flare-up in five days from Friday till next Tuesday, asking residents in downtown area to stay put at home as downtown communities are placed under closed-off management. 

Zhengzhou, with a population of 12.6 million, registered a total of 674 new local infections on Wednesday including 153 confirmed patients and 521 asymptomatic carriers, according to the Henan Provincial Health Commission. 



At present, the epidemic situation in Zhengzhou remains volatile, with new cases found at community level remaining high, the local authorities in Zhengzhou announced during a press briefing on Wednesday evening. 

The epidemic situation remains complex and changeable with cases spreading across all counties and districts in the city, showing a trend of expansion in the downtown area and an upward trend in the peripheral areas due to increasing personnel flow and  transmission risks at community level, Shi Dadong, deputy head of the publicity department of the city's Party committee, said at Wednesday's briefing. 

Zhengzhou resolves to fight a must-win battle against COVID-19 in five days from Friday till next Tuesday with eight downtown districts in the city to carry out  personnel flow management and residents will be required to take nucleic acid testing every day in a bid to clear up the cases, Shi announced at the Wednesday's briefing. 

The local epidemic prevention and control headquarters published an open letter to the local residents on Wednesday, urging residents in high-risk areas to stay at home. 

According to the letter, residential compounds in downtown area will be placed under closed-off management and the residents will be required to stay at home and not leave their homes, compounds or the downtown area if not necessary. 

Temporary traffic restrictions will be imposed during the period, with special purpose vehicles such as medical and disaster rescues vehicles allowed to operate on the road. 

The health commission  also released a notice on Wednesday to prohibit the interference into and disturbance against emergent first aid needs of patients in critical conditions. The authority noted that critically ill patients have to be treated first and screened later if they don't have nucleic acid testing results. 

A series of similar temporary management and control measures also started in six districts in downtown Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province since Wednesday after the local epidemic prevention and control headquarters released a notice. 

According to the notice, residents in the six districts have to present two negative nucleic acid testing results obtained within 48 hours if they need to go out. Personnel and vehicles related to people's livelihood and emergency such as disaster rescue and epidemic prevention are not affected by the restriction. 

Besides, flexible working time, online conferencing and work from home were advised by authorities. All kinds of business venues except for those related to essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies were required to suspend operation. In-person education of primary and middle schools and kindergartens as well as all kinds of training institutions were also suspended. 

Global Times