Inner Mongolia scrambles to stop Covid cases spreading to China’s capital
- The autonomous region imposes lockdowns in some areas as infections – most of them asymptomatic – mount
- With a week to go until the Communist Party’s national congress, officials ordered to prevent spillovers to Beijing
The autonomous region reported 637 new cases on Saturday – the highest total among the country’s provincial administrations, most of them asymptomatic.
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In Hohhot, the regional capital, more than 360 parts of the city have been designated high or medium risk, limiting movement for residents.
“Yesterday I was banned from leaving my residential compound. Today I was prohibited from exiting the building. It’s the sixth day of lockdown. I’m so desperate!” one user in Hohhot wrote on social media platform Weibo.
“I’ve been eating instant noodles for a week,” another one at Inner Mongolia University in Hohhot wrote. “Canteens are closed. Delivery services are unavailable. My stock of instant noodles is running low. Help!”
Health authorities say the growth in cases has been caused by the BF.7 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus, a more infectious and immune-evasive strain that US health experts expect to fuel a winter surge.