China's Suzhou tightens rules for COVID-19 control

The eastern Chinese city of Suzhou reported nine confirmed COVID-19 cases and two asymptomatic cases, all locally transmitted, from midnight on Tuesday to 3pm Wednesday, local health authorities have said.

The city has tightened travel restrictions as new COVID-19 cases emerged recently. Starting Wednesday, passengers leaving the city by train are required to provide a negative result certificate for nucleic acid testing taken within 48 hours before departure, said the city's epidemic prevention and control headquarters.

The city also closed more highway entrances and ferries, and added traffic checkpoints to curb the spread of the virus. Previously, the operation of shuttle buses between Suzhou and other provinces and cities had been suspended.

Special lanes are open only for logistic trucks transporting necessities. Suzhou has to date supplied approximately 8,000 tonnes of vegetables and 2,000 tonnes of pork, as well as more than 10,000 tonnes of grain and over 600 tonnes of cooking oil, in order to meet the daily needs of local residents.

As of 3 pm Wednesday, Suzhou has registered a total of 35 confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven asymptomatic cases in its latest outbreak.

The city's center for disease prevention and control has detected the Omicron variant in specimens taken from current confirmed cases based on gene sequencing results.