A medical worker wearing a protective suit takes swab samples for the COVID-19 test on residents in Huaxian county in central China's Henan province on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people. (Chinatopix via AP)
The Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) - A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people.
It wasn't clear how long the lockdown of Anyang city, home to 5.5 million, would last as a notice said it was being done to facilitate mass testing but did not indicate if it would end when the testing is completed.
Another 13 million people are locked down in the city of Xi'an and 1.1 million in Yuzhou.
The lockdown of Anyang followed the confirmation of two cases of omicron on Monday that are believed to be linked to two other cases found Saturday in the city of Tianjin. It appears to be the first time omicron has spread in China beyond people who arrived from abroad and their immediate contacts.
Residents are not allowed to leave their homes, non-essential vehicles are banned from streets and stores have been ordered shut except for those selling necessities, according to a city notice shared by state media late Monday.
Xi'an and Yuzhou are both battling the delta variant and neither has reported any omicron cases. About 2,000 people have been infected in Xi'an, an ancient capital that is home to the Terracotta Warrior ruins, in what is by far the largest outbreak in China.
A delivery worker passes groceries to a masked woman through a closed gate at a residential block in Xi'an, a city of 13 million people under the COVID-19 lockdown, in northwest China's Shaanxi province on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people. (Chinatopix via AP)
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A man wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus walks by medical workers in protective suits taking swab samples for the COVID-19 test from residents in Huaxian county, central China's Henan province on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people. (Chinatopix via AP)
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In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, residents line up on a football field for the coronavirus test during a mass testing in north China's Tianjin municipality, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. Tianjin, a major Chinese city near Beijing has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown after 41 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant. (Sun Fanyue/Xinhua via AP)
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Hairdressers wearing protected suits cut residents' hair at a residential block which has become under lockdown in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi province on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. A major Chinese city near Beijing has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown after a number of children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant. Elsewhere, millions of people are being confined to their homes in Xi'an and Yuzhou, two cities that are farther away but have larger outbreaks traced to the delta variant. (Chinatopix Via AP)
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In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a volunteer wearing a face mask to protect from the coronavirus uses a loud speaker to give advise to masked residents as they line up for the coronavirus test during a mass testing in north China's Tianjin municipality, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. Tianjin, a major Chinese city near Beijing has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown after 41 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant. (Sun Fanyue/Xinhua via AP)
The Associated Press
Residents wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus wait for the coronavirus test during a mass testing in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. Tianjin, a major Chinese city near Beijing has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown after 41 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant. (Chinatopix via AP)
The Associated Press