Biggest COVID-19 outbreak: China curtails million more people to home

BEIJING: Battling its biggest COVID-19 outbreak in the last two years, China on Sunday imposed stay-at-home orders on millions more people in the country’s northeast.

The country has largely kept the virus at bay since it brought to heel its initial outbreak in 2020 using targeted lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions. But the Omicron strain has broken through its defenses in recent months and taken hold in multiple cities.

Jilin, the second-biggest city in Jilin province, will lockdown about 4.5 million inhabitants for three days from Monday night, local authorities announced.

More than 4,000 new infections were reported across China on Sunday — with two-thirds in Jilin province, which borders Russia and North Korea.

Changchun, Jilin province’s capital, said Saturday it would also tighten restrictions for three days.

Since March 11, Changchun’s nine million people have only been allowed out once every two days to buy food.

The new measures mean only medical personnel and other anti-epidemic workers will be authorized to leave their homes.