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China is dealing with its worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic a year and a half ago.
Dozens of cases were reported around the country this past week. These cases have been identified as being caused by the highly transmissible delta variant that first was identified in India.
China has now reportedly sealed off one city and punished its local leaders. China has reported 71 new cases of COVID-19 from local transmission.
People are prevented from leaving their homes. Tourists or residents cannot leave the city.
The country is on high alert as an outbreak of cases connected to the international airport in the eastern city of Nanjing touched at least 17 provinces.
It was widely reported that the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in late 2019 in Wuhan. Another COVID-19 hotspot was emerging in the city of Zhangjiajie.
More from Fox News:
The city government’s Communist Party disciplinary committee on Wednesday issued a list of local officials who “had a negative impact” on pandemic prevention and control work who would be punished… The city itself has only recorded 19 cases since last week, three of which were people with no symptoms, which are counted separately. However, individual cases linked to Zhangjiajie’s outbreak have spread to at least five provinces, according to the Shanghai government-owned newspaper the Paper.
Far higher numbers were reported in Yangzhou, a city next to Nanjing, which has recorded 126 cases as of Tuesday.
After announcing last week that they were suspending the issuance of passports for travelers except for those with an urgent need, officials at the National Immigration Administration reiterated the message again on Wednesday at a press briefing.
As of Tuesday, China has given more than 1.71 billion vaccine doses to its population of 1.4 billion. It’s not clear how many of those are first or both doses, but at least 40% of the population is fully protected, according to earlier announcements.
Chinese companies have not publicly shared real-world data on how effective their vaccines are against the delta variant, though officials have said the vaccines prevent severe disease and hospitalization.
TRENDING 👇 Olympian Has Incredible Response After Winning Gold
This is refreshing to see. Amid rampant left-wing protests by U.S. athletes at the Olympics, one Olympian is showing liberals what real patriotism looks like.
Chicago-born U.S. athlete Tamyra Mensah-Stock became the first African-American woman to win gold in wrestling. What was her response? She thanked God and expressed joy at representing the United States.
While holding the American flag tightly, Mensah-Stock said, “It feels amazing. I love representing the U.S.”
“I freaking love living there. I love it, and I’m so happy I get to represent USA!” she said. She also stated, “I’m feeling very happy and I keep trying not to cry, but it keeps happening. I just wanna go into a dark room and just cry.”
“It’s by the grace of God I’m able to even move my feet,” she said. “Like I just leave it in His hands, and I pray that all the practice, that the hell that my freaking coaches put me through pays off. And every single time it does, and I get better and better and it’s so weird that there is no cap to the limit that I can do.” Watch the clip:
We need to protect this woman at all costs… An infectious beam of positivity, her spirit is undeniable. What an incredible representative of our sport and our great country. This interview is so emotional! We are SO proud of you! 🇺🇸 #TMS @MensahTamStock pic.twitter.com/372k1gpu0O
— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) August 3, 2021
