China builds massive quarantine camp as new COVID outbreak raises concern
China is building a giant quarantine center to house more than 4,000 people as an outbreak of coronavirus raises alarm in the northeast of the country ahead of next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.
The massive camp on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, the capital and largest city in Hebei province, is expected to house close contacts of COVID-19 patients, CNN reported Wednesday. The site was initially planned for 3,000 people, but authorities have expanded it to house as many as 4,160, according to the network.
Thousands of constructions workers were reportedly sent to the city last week to help complete the project as soon as possible. Construction began on Jan. 12 and at least one section of the building is ready for use.
The fast-moving project resembles the scenes of January 2020, when China rushed to build hospitals in the city of Wuhan, the first coronavirus epicenter. Since then, about 100 million people have contracted the virus around the world and more than 2 million have died.
China’s strict response to the pandemic helped control the outbreak and death toll better than most large countries, with fewer than 100,000 confirmed cases — though health experts are highly skeptical of the Chinese government’s official figures. The country’s official tally also does not include people who test positive but have no symptoms.
China is now trying to adopt the same strict measures as it faces a rapidly moving outbreak in Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, and other northern provinces. All have imposed some sort of quarantine and travel restrictions after dozens of new cases were reported in recent days.
Officials have also urged citizens not to travel and have launched massive testing efforts. In Shijiazhuang, entire villages have been moved to quarantine facilities in a drastic attempt to stop the virus from spreading further, according to CNN.
In addition to the new quarantine center, several new hospitals are under construction in Hebei to prepare for an influx of COVID-19 patients. One of them, which has 1,500 rooms, was built in five days last week.
With News Wire Services
