China expands lockdowns, cancels summit, amid new COVID-19 outbreak

Lockdowns have been expanded and a major political conference postponed in a province next to Beijing that is the scene of China's most serious recent COVID-19 outbreak. Residents of the city of Gu'an just south of Beijing have been ordered to stay home for seven days starting from Tuesday. Similar measures have been ordered around the country, particularly in the central city of Wuhan where 11 million people were placed under lockdown for 76 days last winter as the pandemic was just beginning. Hebei has also delayed the meetings of the provincial People's Congress and its advisory body that are…