The Chinese government has shut down Shijiazhuang and Xingtai cities in Hebei south of Beijing following the country’s highest COVID-19 spike in six months.
Transport links with the two cities, both of which boast a combined population of 18 million, have been cut and residents barred from leaving.
Hebei province in northern China has seen 127 new COVID-19 cases, and an additional 183 asymptomatic infections, in the past week.
Most of the cases were reported while nine confirmed cases were in the neighbouring city of Xingtai.
The Chinese National Health Commission has reported 53 confirmed cases for Thursday, including 37 native patients and 16 imported infections. Among the local cases, 33 were detected in Hebei.
Mass testing has started from Shijiazhuang’s Gaocheng District, the epicentre of the Hebei outbreak.
Of the 673,787 residents tested and 511,219 swab samples analysed by labs, no fewer than 259 positive cases confirmed, the city’s vice mayor Meng Xianghong, said at a press briefing.