Chongqing struggles to contain spread of virus

Chongqing, a mega city of 32 million people, is facing "unprecedented difficulty" curbing the virus as three-fourths of new COVID cases have been spread by community transmission, local health official said at a news conference on Sunday.

Since the outbreak on Nov 1, when a transmission chain in Shapingba district was discovered, all the 39 districts and counties across the city have had reported infections.

Among them, over 10 districts and counties have more than 100 cases, and several central urban areas, such as Shapingba, Jiulongpo and Yubei, have seen over 1,000 cases, said Li Pan, deputy director of the local health commission.

The city reported 150 new locally transmitted confirmed cases and 2,147 local asymptomatic carriers on Sunday, the Chongqing Health Commission said.

The majority of the new cases were found to be spread via community transmission and the number is rising. Four central populated districts found that three-fourths of the newly infected people come from local communities.

"The risk of continuation and community spread remains high, and we are facing unprecedented difficulty containing the virus," Li said.

At Sunday's news conference, Ma Ranxi, director of the Chongqing Information Office, reiterated that the communities must guarantee timely medical treatment and emergency visits.

"Pregnant women, critically ill patients and their escorts can leave the lockdown areas unconditionally," he said.

In addition, the lockdown communities need to provide designated vehicles to transport them and release the people who have emergencies in a timely manner, he added.

To solve the problem of people parking and moving cars during the temporary control period of the epidemic, the Chongqing Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau has released a free-parking policy in all controlled areas.