Mass Testing, Lockdowns As Parts Of China Report Infections

Schools closed, flights cancelled in latest outbreak linked to a group of tourists

BEIJING • The Chinese authorities cancelled hundreds of flights, closed schools and ramped up mass testing yesterday to try and stamp out a new Covid-19 outbreak linked to a group of tourists.

China has kept a relentless zero-Covid approach with strict border closures and targeted lockdowns, even as other countries tentatively try to ease restrictions.

Domestic outbreaks have largely been eliminated, but as China logged a fifth straight day of new cases – mostly in northern and north-western areas – the authorities beefed up controls.

The latest outbreak was linked to an elderly couple, part of a group of tourists. They started in Shanghai before flying to Xi’an, Gansu province, and Inner Mongolia.