Beijing Commuter City Locked Down Amid Covid Outbreak

The city of Langfang, Beijing’s neighbor to the southeast that is a major source of commuters to the Chinese capital, was placed under a three-day lockdown Sunday amid a new local outbreak of Covid-19.

The Hebei province city has launched mass testing for Covid-19 to identify further positive cases in its population of 5 million after three consecutive days of discovering 30 nonsymptomatic cases since Saturday.

On May 19, local disease prevention and control authorities warned of a “severe and complex" situation in the city due to outbreaks in neighboring regions including Beijing and the port city of Tianjin.

Intercity commuters living in Langfang have been asked to report their recent travel history to their local community office. Residents have also been told to avoid unnecessary travel outside the city.

On Saturday, Beijing said it had contained its latest wave of Covid-19, after a month in which nearly 1,800 people were infected. In nearby Tianjin, the daily tally of positive cases dropped to single digits on Sunday.

Contact reporter Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com) editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com)

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