China is building a massive Covid-19 quarantine camp for 4,000 people as the outbreak continues

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The quarantine camp is located on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province, which surrounds the country’s capital, Beijing.

China has largely kept the spread of the virus under control, and much of the country is back to normal. However, a sudden increase in Cases have alarmed officials and raised concerns in the run-up to the Lunar New Year, the county’s main annual festival, where hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel to visit relatives.

Officials in Shijiazhuang, where the outbreak is central, have begun massive testing and strict lockdowns, with entire villages moving to centralized quarantine facilities to stem the spread of the virus.

The new quarantine camp will house close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 patients as authorities continue an extensive program of contact detection and testing.

It was originally intended to house 3,000 people but has since expanded to a capacity of 4,160. More than 4,000 construction workers have completed “six days and nights of work” to complete the first phase, Shijiazhuang Deputy Mayor Meng Xianghong said Tuesday.

Authorities began construction on January 13, and the first part of the camp is now complete and ready for use, while construction continues in the second phase, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Each prefabricated room is expected to measure 18 square meters (approximately 194 square feet) and will come with an en-suite bathroom and shower, desks, chairs, beds, Wi-Fi and a television, according to CCTV.

The ambitious task is reminiscent of earlier efforts during the early stages of the pandemic, in which authorities built several medical facilities in just 10 days, including a 1,000-bed hospital.
On Tuesday, China reported 103 new confirmed cases and 58 asymptomatic infections, which are counted separately, across four provinces. Hebei Province now has a total of 818 active locally transmitted cases and more than 200 asymptomatic infections, according to the Provincial Health Commission.

Last Wednesday, a patient died in Hebei – the first Covid-19-related death in 242 days.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in mainland China is now 88,557, while the official death toll stands at 4,635.

Civilians are lining up for the third round of testing in Shijiazhuang on Jan. 18.

In an effort to contain the outbreak, authorities shut down Shijiazhuang on Jan. 8, banning all 11 million residents from the city.

More than 20,000 civilians from 12 villages in Shijiangzhuang have since been relocated to other quarantine sites as a preventive measure, CGTN reported last week.

To date, more than 17 million people have been tested in Hebei, and authorities are currently conducting a second round of mass tests in Shijiazhuang and the cities of Xingtai and Langfang.

Hebei authorities are now urging residents to stay at home, with officials being sent to urban and rural areas to enforce measures and keep people from traveling through the province and Beijing.

In response to the perceived threat, Beijing authorities stepped up testing and screening efforts after cases were confirmed in the capital’s outer Daxing district, announcing on Wednesday that they would close two nearby metro stations until further notice.

In northeastern Jilin province, 102 cases have been associated with a so-called “superspreader,” a salesman who traveled from his home province of Heilongjiang.

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