This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
Urumqi, the capital of China's Xinjiang region, has been gripped by a new wave of coronavirus cases, sparking alarm and prompting the city to take drastic measures to contain the outbreak.
According to government authorities and state-controlled media, at least five cases linked to Urumqi have been discovered, including a man who was confirmed positive after he travelled from the city to the eastern province of Zhejiang.
As of Friday, July 17, 2020, the city had curtailed most flights into the city, with 89 percent of flights servicing Urumqi cancelled, and the metro system had shut down its single line from late Thursday.
Public bus services were also curtailed, with the vehicles subjected to thorough disinfection and bus employees required to take COVID-19 tests.
China has reported a total of more than 83,000 infections and 4,634 deaths, with the Xinjiang region being one of the hardest hit areas.
Around half of Xinjiang's population of more than 21 million is composed of ethnic Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims, many of whom complain of decades of political and religious oppression by China's ruling Communist Party, which the government denies.
