INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Chinese cities were imposing fresh lockdowns and travel restrictions after the number of new daily COVID-19 cases tripled during a weeklong
holiday, ahead of a major Communist Party meeting in Beijing next week.The latest lockdown started Monday in Fenyang city in northern
China&s Shanxi province after a preliminary positive case was found in citywide testing the previous day, state broadcaster CCTV
reported.China is one of the few places in the world still resorting to harsh measures to keep the disease from spreading
The long-ruling Communist Party is particularly concerned as it tries to present a positive image of the nation in the run-up to a
once-in-five-years party congress that starts Sunday, AP reported.Travel was down during an annual National Day holiday that began October
1, as authorities discouraged people from leaving their cities and provinces
But the number of new daily cases has still grown to about 1,800 from 600 at the start of the break.Leaders don''t want a major outbreak to
cast a pall over the congress, but their strict &zero-COVID& approach has taken an economic toll, particularly on small businesses and
Many in China hope the pandemic policy will ease after the meeting.Outbreaks have been reported across the country, with the largest in
Inner Mongolia and the far-west Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region
Both have been recording several hundred new cases a day.Both Shanghai, where residents endured prolonged lockdowns earlier this year, and
the national capital Beijing have had a small but growing number of cases
Two Shanghai districts announced closures of cinemas and other entertainment venues last week, AP reported.The post China reimposes
lockdowns as COVID surges after weeklong holiday first appeared on Ariana News.
