The reaction was not long in coming.
China on Thursday canceled hundreds of flights, closed schools and stepped up screening in some regions after the discovery of Covid-19 cases linked to a group of tourists.
The country maintains a health policy that aims for "zero infection", with a drastic limitation of entries into its territory, compulsory quarantines, confinements and tests as soon as a few cases appear.
Coupled with movement tracking via mobile applications, these measures have enabled China to resume almost normal social and economic activity since 2020. Only two deaths have been recorded in more than a year.
Local confinements and massive screening
However, sporadic cases are regularly identified.
The country has thus registered in recent days a few dozen patients with Covid-19, all linked to an elderly couple who took part in an organized trip.
From Shanghai, they went to the former capital Xi'an (north), known for its army buried in terracotta, to Gansu province (north-west) then to Inner Mongolia (north).
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In response, local authorities have closed tourist sites, schools and places of entertainment.
They also imposed the confinement of certain neighborhoods and ordered massive screenings.
Airports in the affected regions also canceled hundreds of flights on Thursday, according to the specialist site VariFlight.
Around 60% of scheduled departures to Xi'an and Lanzhou airports, which have a population of around 4 million, have been canceled.
Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, has also advised its inhabitants not to leave the city unless there is a compelling reason.
The Chinese Ministry of Health reported on Thursday 13 new cases of Covid-19 nationwide.
