China’s health authorities Saturday reported 27 new cases of the coronavirus, adding that 21 of them were in the capital, Bejing.
One case was also diagnosed in the neighbouring Hebei province.
Three imported cases in Guangdong and one in Shanghai were also reported.
Over 200 cases have been confirmed in the capital since a cluster was traced back to the Xinfadi wholesale market in southwestern Fengtai district penultimate week.
On Friday all interprovincial bus lines from Beijing to the rest of the country were cancelled, with hundreds of flights already cancelled and unnecessary trips banned.
People who need to leave the city must provide proof of a negative nucleic acid test results from the past seven days.
Schools and universities throughout the city have also been closed and all residential communities have been ordered to strictly monitor and control residents’ movements.
The Director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Friday that the pandemic was now a ‘new and dangerous phase.
Tedros told a virtual briefing in Geneva that “the virus is still spreading fast, is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible.”
The current coronavirus pandemic started in China towards the end of last year and has spread to almost all countries of the world affecting 8.8million people and killing over 463000 others.
