China is trying to stem the biggest daily jump in COVID-19 cases since July with a new hot spot in Hebei province surrounding the capital Beijing.
On Wednesday, the province accounted for 51 of China's 52 new local cases, the National Health Commission said. Hebei entered "wartime mode" this week.
In contrast, there were 20 cases reported in Hebei on Tuesday. The commission said 14 of the 17 local cases were imported from overseas.
Health authorities reported 19 local infections and 40 asymptomatic cases between Jan. 2 and Jan. 4. The last locally transmitted infections were in June.
Government officials said most of the new cases were in the capital Shijiazhuang. They launched mass testing drives and banned gatherings.
Travel restrictions have also been stiffened. Travelers must now present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours before boarding a train or an airplane in Hebei.
New COVID-19 cases for all of mainland China on Wednesday numbered 63 compared with 32 reported Tuesday. This is the largest rise in daily cases since 127 were reported July 30.
The commission said the number of asymptomatic patients infected rose to 79 from 64 a day earlier.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 since the pandemic emerged in December is now 87,278, according to Worldometers. The real-time data website reported 63 new cases Wednesday and 4,634 deaths since the pandemic began.
Hebei promised to prevent the virus from spreading outside its borders and into the capital. Beijing has a population of 21 million living in an area of 16,410 square kilometers. Hebei has a population of 75 million.
The province entered "wartime mode." It said investigation teams will be organized at provincial, city and district levels to trace the contacts of those testing positive.
Isolation will be implemented and mass testing conducted.
