New limits in Chinese city with growing outbreak of coronavirus

BEIJING: Residents of the southern Chinese city of Guanzhou will not be able to leave unless they can show that it is absolutely necessary to do so, following an outbreak of COVID-19 that has sickened dozens of people in recent days.

Anyone who is given permission to leave must show a negative test for the virus taken in the previous 48 hours, according to rules issued by the city government that take effect Monday.

The same rule applies to anyone seeking to leave the surrounding province of Guangdong.

The city also is restricting indoor dining, conducting mass testing and banning residents in high-risk neighbourhoods from leaving their homes.

At least two districts in the city of 18 million people have been closed off entirely.

The variant causing the Guangzhou outbreak - the delta variant first identified in India - is reportedly more infectious because those who have it are slower to display symptoms while carrying more virus particles.

Guangzhou has reported no deaths from the outbreak, but the city reported another four locally transmitted cases in the 24 hours before Monday morning, bringing its recent total to more than 100 since May 21.