China puts half a million people in lockdown as Beijing fights new COVID-19 cluster

BEIJING: China imposed a strict lockdown on nearly half a million people in Hebei province to contain a fresh COVID-19 cluster on Sunday (Jun 28), as authorities warned the outbreak was still “severe and complicated”. After China largely brought the coronavirus under control, hundreds have been infected in Beijing and cases have emerged in neighbouring Hebei province in recent weeks. Health officials said Sunday that Anxin county – about 150km from Beijing – will be “fully enclosed and controlled”, the same strict measures imposed at the height of the pandemic in the city of Wuhan earlier this year. Only one…