Hundreds of Flights cancelled, Schools shut down as China battles another Covid 19 Outbreak

On Thursday, Chinese authorities canceled hundreds of flights, shut down schools, and increased mass testing in an effort to curb a fresh Covid-19 pandemic linked to a group of tourists.

Even as other countries slowly ease restrictions, Beijing has maintained a rigorous zero-Covid approach with stringent border closures and targeted lockdowns.
Domestic infections have largely been eradicated, but authorities in China tightened coronavirus controls after the sixth day of fresh cases — predominantly in northern and north-western areas.
China is imposing fresh COVID-19-induced lockdowns and closing its borders with neighboring countries, unlike other countries where restrictions have been lifted. This came after a group of tourists tested COVID-19 positive after seven elderly people on cross-provincial excursions.
According to reports, this group of travelers flew from Shanghai to Xi’an, Gansu Province, and Mongolia. Following that, dozens of cases in at least five provinces, including Beijing, have been recorded and linked to their visit. China reported new cases for the seventh day in a row, predominantly in the north and northwest.
COVID-19 infection in Beijing was caused by the Delta variant, according to virus gene sequencing results. In Northwest China’s Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, a COVID-19 transmission chain was found.
According to statistics from aviation tracker VariFlight, hundreds of flights have been canceled at airports in the affected areas.
Around 60% of flights to and from Xi’an and Lanzhou’s main airports have been canceled.
Erenhot in Inner Mongolia issued a notice on Monday prohibiting people from leaving their housing compounds and prohibiting movement in and out of the city.
The state-owned tabloid Global Times warned on Wednesday that the new virus cases in Inner Mongolia were likely to have an impact on Mongolian coal imports owing to supply chain disruptions.