By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) – The latest outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Hebei province, northern China, saw daily cases spike above the 100 mark on Monday for the first time in at least five months.
China's National Health Commission said in a statement that 103 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, with 82 being in Hebei.
Several medical teams from other provinces left for Hebei to help the healthcare system there and stem the spread of the virus which was first reported in the city of Wuhan in December 2019 and has since then spread across the world.
Shijiazhuang and Xingtai cities in Hebei have reported COVID-19 outbreaks for the past two weeks as infection numbers rise.
Local authorities have enforced a de facto lockdown to fight the virus. Traffic to and from the affected areas have been restricted, while local railways have suspended trains.
Just north of Hebei, the capital Beijing has also tightened measures to block the spread of the virus, including a highway closure.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have also detained two people for five days in the central Henan province for allegedly "leaking epidemiological investigation info of COVID-19 contacts," the Chinese daily Global Times reported.
China has reported 87,536 cases of the COVID-19, including 4,634 deaths since the outbreak.
