The Chinese city of Guangzhou reported a spike in COVID-19 cases within its borders Sunday, causing mass flight cancelations at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China’s busiest airport.
The city reported 27 new cases, 7 of which were imported cases from travelers landing in Guangzhou. The city government imposed quarantine measures on the residents of five streets, ordering them not to leave their homes and closing nearby entertainment venues and markets, according to Reuters.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of falsifying its data on coronavirus outbreaks, with many arguing it has done so since the onset of the pandemic.
The city’s public transit systems now require travelers to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within the past three days to travel.
China has proven willing to resort to more drastic measures to prevent disease spread throughout the pandemic. Footage has shown Chinese authorities reportedly forcibly relocating people who are potentially infected, as well as welding apartment doors shut to prevent quarantine breach. (RELATED: House Republicans: ‘Significant Circumstantial Evidence’ COVID-19 Originated From Wuhan Lab Leak)
Scientists have acknowledged that the lab leak theory, which posits that COVID-19 may have originally spread out of a coronavirus research facility in Wuhan, China, is possible. The theory was originally derided as conspiratorial by U.S. officials and the media.
President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. intelligence community to conduct a 90-day review of the lab leak possibility last week, arguing it was a possibility that must be considered. Biden says factions within his intelligence community are divided on whether COVID-19 spread out of a lab or spread naturally from animals to humans.
“As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has ‘coalesced around two likely scenarios’ but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,” Biden wrote in the announcement. “Here is their current position: ‘while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter – each with low or moderate confidence – the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.’”
Biden says he expects to release the reports findings to the public, barring any complications.
“Yes, unless there’s something I’m unaware of,” replies @POTUS when asked by a travel pool reporter at @Andrews_JBA if he’ll release the report reviewing the origins of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/D0h470B3qG
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) May 27, 2021