China imposes regional blockade as cases of COVID-19 surge

Beijing - China tightened its blockade in cities along the East Coast and increased orders for mass testing on Wednesday amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Checks are set up at tollhouses around Putian City in Fujian Province, 12 of which are completely closed. Cities near Xiamen and Quanzhou also limit travel as delta variants spread throughout the region. The National Health Commission on Wednesday said another 50 cases were diagnosed in various areas of Fujian, most of them in the Putian area. Since the launch of the first pandemic detected in Wuhan, central China in late 2019, China…