Suzhou not yet preparing for citywide lockdown

Suzhou of Jiangsu province will not impose a citywide lockdown at the moment amid a rise in COVID-19 infections, local authorities said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Gu Haidong, the executive vice-mayor, said the city has been facing extreme pressure in containing the virus as its neighboring cities, including the country's financial center of Shanghai, report thousands of infections every day.

Suzhou reported 31 infections from midnight to 3 pm Tuesday. It reported 10 confirmed and 364 asymptomatic cases from March 10 to Monday, with 73 percent potentially connected to COVID-19 cases in Shanghai.

According to a three-zone epidemic control system that categorizes communities based on the level of COVID-19 infections, Suzhou now has 112 lockdown zones, 93 controlled zones and 15 precautionary zones.

Contact the writer at cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn