China virus cases rise, millions more placed under lockdown

The wave of infections is likely to hamper next month’s Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions of people typically travel to their home town

BEIJING

China posted its biggest daily jump in COVID-19 cases in more than five months on Wednesday, stepping up containment measures that have seen four cities put under lockdown, as the world’s second-biggest economy scrambles to head off a new wave of infections.

Most of the new cases were reported near the capital, Beijing, but a province in the far northeast also saw a rise in infections, official data showed, amid a resurgence that has seen more than 28 million people put under home quarantine.

While the Chinese city of Wuhan was the initial epicenter of the novel coronavirus, which emerged there in late 2019, China had in recent months largely kept it at bay.

On Wednesday, the National Health Commission reported a total of 115 new confirmed cases on the mainland, compared with 55 the previous day, the highest daily increase since July 30.

It said 107 of the new cases were local infections. Hebei, the province that surrounds Beijing, accounted for 90 cases, while northeastern Heilongjiang province reported 16 new cases.