Virus lockdown in major Chinese city

COVID-19 outbreak in Guangzhou tests the government’s more targeted approach to containing the disease.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou locked down its largest district Monday as it tries to control a major COVID-19 outbreak, suspending public transit and requiring residents to present a negative test if they want to leave their homes.

The outbreak is testing China’s attempt to bring a more targeted approach to its “zero COVID” policies while facing outbreaks that are driven by fast-spreading coronavirus variants. China is the only major country still trying to curb virus transmissions through strict lockdown measures and mass testing.

As part of the lockdown, Baiyun district, home to 3.7 million people in Guangzhou, suspended in-person classes for schools and sealed off universities. The measures are meant to last until Friday, the city announced.

Meanwhile, Beijing reported two more pandemic deaths. On Sunday, the capital reported China’s first COVID-19 death in more than six months.

Although critics have questioned China’s official COVID-19 numbers, especially its death toll, its intensive approach to trying to contain infections has prevented massive outbreaks and kept daily counts of new cases lower than in many other countries.

This month, China announced that it was relaxing some of its zero-tolerance policies, such as suspending f lights from airlines that had brought a certain number of passengers who tested positive. It also cut down the time required in centralized quarantine for international arrivals from seven to five days.

The relaxation of measures was an attempt to make the policies more “scientific and precise,” Lei Haichao, the deputy director of the National Health Commission, said.

Large cities are still employing some of the stricter measures, though in a more localized manner than before, when entire metropolises would shut down.

Shijiazhuang, a city in northern Hebei province, is testing all residents in six districts. In Beijing’s Haidian district, home to the tech hub and top universities, authorities announced Sunday night that in-person classes were being canceled at elementary and secondary schools.

Guangdong province, home to Guangzhou, reported the largest number of new cases Monday, with 9,085 out of a nationwide total of 27,095.