China aims to vaccinate entire city in 5 days after outbreak
A Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 began a five-day drive Friday to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people.
State broadcaster CCTV showed people lining up and getting vaccinated in Ruili, where 16 cases have been confirmed since Tuesday. Twelve of them are Chinese and the other four are nationals of Myanmar, which lies across the border.
A city Communist Party official told CCTV the previous day that 159,000 doses of vaccine had arrived in the city.
Television footage showed vacant streets as officials ordered people to home quarantine and closed non-essential businesses. The city has also said it would tighten controls around the porous border to try to stop anyone crossing illegally from Myanmar.
China has largely eradicated local transmission of COVID-19 and quickly rolls out strict measures whenever a new cluster emerges.
This is the first time China has tried to vaccinate an entire city in response to new outbreak. The move comes as the government ramps up a nationwide vaccination drive.
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In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a woman registers information for COVID-19 vaccination at the Jingcheng Hospital in Ruili city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, April 1, 2021. The Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 this week began a five-day drive Friday to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people. (Chen Xinbo/Xinhua via AP) -
A woman wearing a face mask to help protect against COVID-19 walks past a tree in bloom on a rainy day in Beijing, Friday, April 2, 2021. A Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 this week began a five-day drive Friday to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) -
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a medical worker administers a Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine at the Jingcheng Hospital in Ruili city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province Thursday, April 1, 2021. The Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 this week began a five-day drive Friday to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people. (Chen Xinbo/Xinhua via AP)
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