The Diocese of Shijiazhuang clarified: “As of today, among the confirmed cases in Shijiazhuang, only one of them is a Catholic believer.”
Officials from the Beijing Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs stated that 155 venues used for religious purposes in Beijing would be temporarily closed to the general public and collective religious activities will be suspended.
NBC News reports that to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities locked down 11 million people in Hebei Province.
It took just 39 new coronavirus
cases for health authorities in China to put
almost 11 million people into lockdown in the city of Shijiazhuang.
Health officials took no chances on
Wednesday, sealing off the capital of the industrial Hebei province and
ordering a mass testing drive.
Travel restrictions were put in place in
the remainder of the region, which encircles China’s capital Beijing and is
home to some 76 million people.
By Saturday, Mayor Ma Yujun told a news
conference that it had taken just three days to complete the first round of
mass testing in Shijiazhuang, with 354 people found positive for the virus. A
second round of testing is due to begin soon, he added.
Authorities put Hebei — known for textile,
steel and pharmaceutical industries — into a “wartime mode” on
Tuesday. This meant that government-coordinated action could begin,
investigation teams to trace contacts could be set up and medical supplies
distributed.
For residents of the provincial capital,
Shijiazhuang, travel out of the city was barred and gatherings banned. Schools
were closed down, while flights and trains were cancelled and the main bus
terminal shut.
Late Friday, citizens were urged to stay
home for at least seven days.
Nearby, officials in the city of Nangong
announced on the social platform WeChat that
they would offer rewards of 500 Yuan ($77) for reports of anyone refusing a
Covid-19 test.
Chinese social media WeChat and Weibo have spread false statements, including:
- “Xiaoguozhuang in Gaocheng is a Catholic village.
- Twenty days ago, European and American priests, attended religious activities in Gaocheng, without taking any precautionary measures.
- …these missionaries brought the European virus…”
One social media WeChat public account with the ID, “Qi Feng Lu Gu,” posted the rumor “Shijiazhuang Gaocheng, where the epidemic occurred, spread across 15 churches.” This falsely linked the spread of the epidemic to Gaocheng Catholic Church.
As Beijing fights the new COVID-19 epidemic, it may simultaneously use the outbreak as an excuse to strengthen its control over venues used for religious purposes. Beijing will also carry out various investigations on unregistered religious activities in rural areas of the city, stating that it will keep “violations of laws and regulations” in check.
Meantime, the CCP has indefinitely restricted religious activities in Hebei and Beijing.
ChinaAid Media Team
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