City asks residents&tourists stay indoors,violators face severe

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The China-Mongolia border city of Ejin Banner, one of the regions hit the hardest in the latest coronavirus flare-up, issued an emergency notice on Monday that all residents and tourists in the city must stay indoors to prevent COVID-19 from spreading further. The city reported 12 new confirmed cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 43.

The notice came into effect immediately after its release, requiring residents and tourists to report any abnormalities during their indoor stay to relevant personnel in charge. Those who violate the rule and cause serious consequences will face severe punishments according to the law, the notice said, the China Central Television reported. 

According to the regional health authorities, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has registered 13 new local confirmed cases, 12 of which are from the Ejin Banner, mounting to a total of 62 in the region and 43 in the city. All of the cases are in designated hospitals for centralized treatment, and all close contacts have been put under quarantine for medical observation.

The sudden lockdown stranded nearly 10,000 tourists in a city with only 35,000 residents, Jimu News reported on Monday. While the city has announced on Thursday to offer free services of goods delivery to tourists including food, medicines, and epidemic prevention supplies, the region is still faced with a lack of daily necessities and medical supplies.

Alxa League, the region that administers the Ejin Banner, urgently dispatched two batches of materials including facial masks, medical protective clothing, disinfectant, and winter supplies on Wednesday.

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Another major city in Northwest China, Lanzhou of Gansu Province, has also halted all unnecessary public venues, the city authorities said on Monday. All public gatherings are suspended and the city is asking residents to not leave their homes unless it's needed. 

The province reported another four new confirmed patients on Sunday, including three in Lanzhou. The total local confirmed cases in Gansu have reached 45, of which 33 are from Lanzhou. 

With Gansu suspending all tourism-related activities amid increasing COVID-19 infections, as of Sunday, at least five provinces including Beijing halted cross-provincial tourism-related activities after the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued an announcement on Saturday requiring travel agencies, in a circuit-breaker measure, to suspend cross-provincial tourism-related activities in places where medium- or high-risk areas are located and announced.