Chinese city of 21 million shuts down over COVID-19 outbreak

Children in at least 10 cities and provinces across China are facing disruptions to their new academic year as pandemic controls force schools to switch to online learning, according to a report run Thursday in state-affiliated media.

Xining, the capital of western Qinghai province and home to 2.5 million people, has rolled out a mass testing drive and told residents in its main urban area to work from home for three days.

China's southern hub of Shenzhen said new virus restrictions would come into force Thursday evening in its Nanshan district, which hosts the headquarters of tech giants Tencent and ZTE.

The district government said it had ordered entertainment venues including bars, cinemas, and karaoke clubs to close, and started requiring residents to produce a recent negative COVID-19 test to enter their housing compounds.

China has stuck to its zero-tolerance virus strategy despite concern that the approach is stifling its economy.

Last month, travelers in the southern island province of Hainan protested after more than 80,000 tourists were stranded in a resort city because of a COVID-19 flare-up.

Social media videos from the eastern megacity of Shanghai showed panicked crowds fleeing an Ikea store and another building as officials tried to impose local lockdowns in response to just two suspected cases. (AFP)