BEIJING, Oct. 25 (BNA) – A province in northwest China that relies heavily on tourism closed all its tourist sites on Monday after new cases of coronavirus were discovered.
Gansu Province lies along the ancient Silk Road and is known for its Dunhuang Grottoes filled with Buddhist images and other religious sites, according to the Associated Press.
The National Health Commission said 35 new local transmission cases were detected in the past 24 hours, four of them in Gansu.
Another 19 cases were found in the Inner Mongolia region, and more cases spread to several provinces and cities. Residents of parts of Inner Mongolia have been ordered to stay indoors.
Although domestic infections have largely been eliminated, China has a zero-tolerance policy toward the epidemic, which is characterized by lockdown, quarantine and mandatory testing for the virus.
The spread of the delta variable by travelers and tour groups is a particular concern ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Outside spectators are already banned, and participants will have to stay in a bubble that separates them from the people outside.
Authorities in the capital said on Sunday that people arriving from places with recent infections would need to show a negative test result for the virus and submit regular health reports.
RAE