City increases prevention and control measures, ensures adequate food supply

Suzhou in Jiangsu province has stepped up virus prevention and control measures while ensuring adequate food supplies in locked-down areas of the city amid the latest resurgence of COVID-19, according to local authorities.

The city reported 32 asymptomatic cases on Sunday. It has reported some 500 infected people since March, 73 percent of whom were potentially connected to COVID-19 cases in nearby Shanghai.

The city government has suggested its permanent resident population of about 13 million people work from home and it has suspended operations of cinemas, bars and gymnasiums.

Anybody intending on leaving the city must present a negative nucleic acid test result obtained within 24 hours of departure. The same is required of people who check in to any of the city's hotels, according to Suzhou's epidemic prevention and control team.

All communities in Suzhou should adopt strict management and check health codes and mobile travel codes looking out for recent travel histories to cities that have reported infected cases, it said.

As of Monday, Suzhou has 170 locked-down zones, 113 controlled zones and 14 precautionary zones under the Shanghai model for a three-zone epidemic control system that classifies communities based on their number of COVID-19 infections. Local authorities have denied that a citywide lockdown will be imposed soon.

Suzhou has sufficient food and groceries for local residents to choose from, with more than 10,000 metric tons of vegetables in storage, Suzhou Evening News reported, adding that large supermarkets will remain open and 700 metric tons of vegetables can be bought online locally every day.

"Suzhou is the main battlefield in the province for epidemic prevention and control," Wu Zhenglong, Party secretary of Jiangsu, said during a visit last week to Suzhou. "The city is facing a severe and complicated situation containing COVID-19 as the virus has broken out in multiple zones," Wu said.

According to the 2021 Annual Report on Intercity Commuting in Yangtze River Delta Cities, more than 76,000 commuters travel between Shanghai and its neighboring cities, including Suzhou, Wuxi and Nantong, every day.

Gu Haidong, executive vice-mayor of Suzhou, said at a news conference that the city is well prepared to provide a safe environment for all the 12th graders who will sit college entrance exams, one of the most valued exams in the country, in 50 days.

According to Gu, all the city's high schools have been asked to provide dormitories for students in grade 12. Under closed-loop management, the schools will also guarantee supplies, nucleic acid testing and environmental disinfection for the 12th graders and their teachers.

Lan Zhen, a mother of a 12th grader in Suzhou, said her daughter currently lives in a dorm with five other students. She sometimes brings food and groceries to the school gate, and the teachers transfer them to her daughter after disinfection.

"Besides studying, the teachers also watch movies with the students, prepare snacks and even help some of them cut their hair," said Lan. "Though she didn't sleep well for the first couple of days, she now says it's an experience she'll never forget."