Authorities in China cancelled hundreds of flights, closed schools and ramped up mass testing on Thursday to try and stamp out a new COVID-19 outbreak linked to a group of tourists.
Beijing has maintained a relentless zero-Covid approach with strict border closures and targeted lockdowns, even as other countries tentatively try to ease restrictions.
Domestic outbreaks have largely been eliminated, but as China logged a fifth straight day of new cases — mostly in northern and northwestern areas — authorities beefed up coronavirus controls.
The latest outbreak was linked to an elderly couple who were in a group of several tourists. They started in Shanghai before flying to Xi’an, Gansu province and Inner Mongolia.
Dozens of cases have since been linked to their travel, with close contacts in at least five provinces and regions, including the capital Beijing.