China has sealed off a large city near Beijing, cutting transport links and banning millions of residents from leaving, as authorities move to stem the country's largest Covid-19 outbreak in six months.
The pandemic has so far broadly been brought under control by Chinese authorities since its emergence in Wuhan in late 2019, with small outbreaks swiftly snuffed out with mass testing, local lockdowns and travel restrictions.
Around 100 new Covid-19 cases have been discovered in the past week in Shijiazhuang, a city of several million in Hebei province whose surrounding areas take the total population to 11 million.
All vehicles and residents were banned from leaving the city and train services suspended, authorities announced last night.