29 June

China has reinstated a strict lockdown near Beijing, affecting around 400,000 people, after a small surge in cases. 

The restrictions have come into force in Anxin country in Hebei province near the capital. 
After the pandemic emerged in China at the end of last year, the country has managed to get new infections to a consistently low level. 

To avoid a second wave, even small surges are taken very seriously by the country's health authorities. 

Officials announced on Sunday that Anxin would be "fully enclosed and controlled". 

The restrictions are similar to those imposed at the height of the pandemic in Wuhan, where the outbreak emerged, earlier this year.

This means only essential workers are allowed to leave their homes, while one member of a household is allowed to go out once a day to shop for necessities. 

Anxin is around 150km (90 miles) south of Beijing. Chinese media say there have been 18 cases in Anxin since the beginning of the recent surge in Beijing two weeks ago.

BBC