China’s Shenyang City in ‘Wartime’ Mode After Local COVID-19 Outbreak

The Huarun Oak Bay housing community in Shenyang city, China, is locked down due to a local surge of COVID-19 cases, on Dec. 23, 2020. (Provided to The Epoch Times by interviewee)

Several waves of new COVID-19 outbreaks have recently occurred in different regions throughout China. Following Dalian city in Liaoning Province, the provincial capital Shenyang announced on Dec. 23 that the city has entered “wartime” status in order to make preparations for curbing the transmission of the CCP virus.

According to a report by Taiwan’s government-run Central News Agency (CNA), local officials in Shenyang issued a notice, stating that a resident who returned home from South Korea tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 22, after finishing the ten days quarantine. The 67-year-old female patient is currently being treated at Shenyang’s Sixth People's Hospital. Local authorities have started the contact tracing process, and so far, they identified 71 close contacts and 69 secondary close contacts. The authorities also announced that the city has entered “wartime” status as of Dec. 23 and began implementing epidemic control measures.

The two communities where the patient and her close contacts reside, five hospitals, and two schools were identified as high-risk areas and were locked down.

Authorities have previously underreported infections, making it difficult to assess the true scale of the outbreak.

The Epoch Times on Dec. 23 spoke with a resident who owns a shop near the Huarun Oak Bay housing community in Yuhong district of Shenyang, which has been locked down. He said, “At noon, we saw vehicles at the east gate, a lot of white ones, people wearing protective clothing, and police."

He said that people are no longer allowed to go in and out of the community, and those who have entered the premises before the lockdown are not allowed to leave.

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A supermarket owner told the publication on Dec. 23 that deliveries are only allowed to be dropped off at the entrance of the housing community for residents to pick up.

He added, “Now some stores and fresh food markets have begun to raise prices. But I don’t want to make money like that. I didn’t raise the price.”

The Epoch Times obtained a video which shows a clerk changing the prices of produce at a grocery store. It appears the store raised their prices soon after Shenyang declared a state of emergency due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

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Another video shows a train station notifying passengers that the high speed rail service between Shenyang and Dalian is now suspended.

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On Dec. 23, the authorities in Liaoning issued a notice, requiring all workplaces across the province to cancel holiday events, including social gatherings. Entertainment venues in medium and high-risk areas will also be closed due to the epidemic.

Li Jing and Hong Ning contributed to this report.