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<h1 class="dcr-125vfar">China locks down part of Guangzhou
amid outbreak of Indian Covid variant</h1>
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<p>Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, and authorities
ordered residents of some streets in the Liwan neighbourhood
of Guangzhou city to isolate</p>
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tested for coronavirus in the Liwan district in
Guangzhou."
src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8a050626bb7585182ee640916992aec78a39f489/0_400_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b4727b7bdf87b2c4abbe078e86a3bfaf"
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class="dcr-l6t30p"><figcaption class="dcr-ble3fe"><span
class="dcr-19x4pdv">A man is tested for coronavirus in
the Liwan district in Guangzhou.</span> Photograph: AP</figcaption></span></figure>
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<div class="dcr-q1awta"><a rel="author"
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<div class="dcr-s64set"><label for="dateToggle"
class="dcr-hn0k3p">Tue 1 Jun 2021 06.45 BST</label>
<p class="dcr-vdb1rb">Last modified on Tue 1 Jun 2021 23.22
BST</p>
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<p class="dcr-s23rjr">Chinese authorities in Guangdong
province have cancelled flights and locked down communities
in response to what is believed to be the first community
outbreak of the Indian variant in <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/china"
data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="in body
link">China</a>.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">Guangdong province had been reporting
daily single figures of local cases, including asymptomatic
cases, for more than a week, until the case load suddenly
jumped to 23 on Monday, including three asymptomatic cases,
and 11 on Tuesday. Most of Guandong’s cases are in the city
of Guangzhou, with some in nearby Foshan, which has a
population of 7.2 million.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">Authorities said all cases were found to
be the strain commonly known as <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/19/what-do-we-know-about-the-indian-coronavirus-variant"
data-link-name="in body link">the Indian variant</a> of
the virus, now <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/covid-19-variants-to-be-given-greek-alphabet-names-to-avoid-stigma"
data-link-name="in body link">renamed by the WHO</a> as
the “Delta” variant.</p>
<figure id="788ea200-8522-4ba9-be31-45d9a2680ea0"
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href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/30/us-must-share-intelligence-covid-origins-expert-says"
class="css-g65o95">
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src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9398acad560b768b05916bc1c0bc88ad5481a8dd/0_121_6048_3627/master/6048.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=fb9dd59242e1cf96591e6a16cee5c511"
alt="" class="css-q4dzvk"></div>
<div class="css-1d91meq">
<div class="css-m4qltb">
<div class="css-1gqsble">US must share
intelligence on Covid origins, WHO-affiliated
expert says</div>
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viewBox="0 0 24 24"><g fill-rule="evenodd"></g></svg></div>
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class="css-g65o95">
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<p class="dcr-s23rjr">“In this race against the virus, we must run a
bit ahead and run faster than before in order to block the spread
of the virus and cut off the infection chain in time,” said Huang
Guanglie, director of the Guangzhou municipal health commission.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">Guangzhou deputy mayor, Li Ming, said the
strain had a short incubation period, a high viral load, and
spread quickly. However she said that the trajectory was “under
control”.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">In response hundreds of flights at the busy
Guangdong Baiyun international airport have been cancelled, and
authorities ordered some streets in the Liwan neighbourhood of
Guangzhou city<strong> </strong>to isolate at home, with only one
person per household allowed out to buy daily necessities.</p>
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alt="" class="css-q4dzvk"></div>
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<div class="css-1gqsble">China forces pace of
vaccinations with persuasion … and some cash </div>
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viewBox="0 0 24 24"><g fill-rule="evenodd"></g></svg></div>
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<p class="dcr-s23rjr">On Sunday all 15.3 million Guangzhou
residents were barred from leaving via bus, air or train
without a green code on the health management app and a
negative Covid test taken in the preceding 72 hours.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">Restaurants have shifted to takeaway only
and entertainment venues closed, while senior high school
classes have been moved online, and vaccinations have been
temporarily suspended. Authorities also placed reduced limits
on gatherings at public venues, and visiting rights to care
and medical institutions.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">A separate outbreak also prompted a
temporary suspension of imports at Yantian port in Shenzhen
last week, one of the world’s busiest export hubs. On Friday
authorities launched compulsory Covid-testing for all Yantian
residents after cases were detected in the community and among
port staff.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">After the Covid-19 pandemic began in the
Chinese city of Wuhan, prompting a long and strict lockdown
which would later be emulated around the world, authorities
have largely contained the virus. <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/global-report-china-records-most-daily-cases-since-march-poverty-fears-in-south-east-asia"
data-link-name="in body link">Sporadic outbreaks of varying
sizes </a>have prompted localised lockdowns and transport
suspensions, most recently in Anhui, which also prompted a
huge increase in people seeking to get vaccinated.</p>
<p class="dcr-s23rjr">An ambitious campaign to have <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/30/china-forces-pace-of-vaccinations-with-persuasion-and-some-cash"
data-link-name="in body link">40% of the population
voluntarily vaccinated</a> by the end of this month has so
far delivered almost 640m doses, according to state media,
including at least one dose to more than 86% of the adult
population in capital Beijing.</p>
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