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China issued stay-at-home orders to millions more people in the country’s northeast on Sunday, as the country battled its largest COVID-19 outbreak in two years. Since its initial outbreak in 2020, the country has largely kept Covid at bay through targeted lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions. However, in recent months, the Omicron strain has breached its defenses and taken root in a number of cities. Jilin, the second-largest city in Jilin province, will be closed to the public for three days beginning Monday night, according to local authorities.
On Sunday, more than 4,000 new infections were reported across China, with Jilin province, which borders Russia and North Korea, accounting for two-thirds of the total.
Changchun, the provincial capital, announced on Saturday that restrictions would be tightened for three days.
Changchun’s nine million residents have only been permitted to leave the city once every two days to buy food since March 11.
Only medical workers and other anti-epidemic workers will be permitted to leave their homes under the new regulations.
It comes just days after China reported the first two Covid deaths in more than a year on Saturday.
Tens of millions of people are currently under lockdown in other Chinese regions, and authorities are scrambling to build hospital beds out of fear that the outbreak will strain the healthcare system.
Jilin province has constructed eight temporary hospitals as well as two quarantine centers.
Tangshan, a city east of Beijing, banned traffic for 24 hours on Sunday in an effort to slow the virus’ spread and will test all of its 7.7 million residents.
