This archive report was first published on 28 June 2020.
China's capital, Beijing, is facing a new coronavirus cluster, prompting the government to lock down nearly half a million people in a surrounding province.
As of Sunday, June 28, 2020, Anxin county in Hebei province, about 150 kilometers from Beijing, has been fully enclosed and controlled, with only one person from each family allowed to go out once a day to purchase necessities.
The move comes after 14 new cases of the virus were reported in Beijing in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 311 since mid-June.
Health officials have warned that the outbreak is still 'severe and complicated,' and the city has mass-tested wholesale market workers, restaurant workers, residents of medium and high-risk neighborhoods, and delivery couriers over the past two weeks.
According to officials, 8.3 million samples have been collected so far, with 7.7 million already tested.
Beijing city official Xu Hejian warned that 'the epidemic situation in the capital is severe and complicated,' and the city needs to continue tracing the spread of the virus.
