China Locks Down Yuzhou After Infections Reported

More than one million people in a city in central China were being confined to their homes on Tuesday after three asymptomatic coronavirus cases were recorded in the country's latest mass lockdown.

Beijing has pursued a "zero Covid" approach with tight border restrictions and targeted lockdowns since the virus first emerged.

Yuzhou, a city with a population of around 1.17 million people in Henan province, announced that from Monday night all citizens were required to stay home to control the spread of the virus.

The announcement was triggered by the discovery of three cases in the last couple of days.

People in the central area "must not go out", according to a statement posted Monday, while all communities will set up "sentinels and gates to strictly implement epidemic prevention and control measures".

The city had already announced that it was halting bus and taxi services and closing shopping malls, museums and tourist attractions.

China reported 175 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, including five in Henan province and eight more in a separate cluster linked to a garment factory in the eastern city of Ningbo.

There were 95 fresh cases recorded in Xi'an Tuesday – a historic city of 13 million people in neighbouring Shaanxi province – which has been under lockdown for nearly two weeks.

Xi'an has reported more than 1,600 cases since December 9, although numbers in the last few days have started to slide compared to last week's figures. (AFP)