China pays cash bounties for reporting new COVID-19 outbreak source

• Chinese city officials declare ‘people’s war’ on the new COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak.
• New COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak has resulted in more than 240 new coronavirus infection cases.
• City officials declared that it is necessary to fight a people’s war for epidemic prevention and control.

China‘s northeastern city of Heihe announced that it would pay 100,000 yuan ($15,651) to local residents who provide “important clues” about the origin of the recent COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak, which has resulted in more that 240 new coronavirus infection cases this week.

“It is hoped that the general public could actively cooperate with the tracing of the virus and provide clues to the probe,” the city officials announced, declaring a “people’s war” on the virus after seeing hundreds of new infections.

“it is necessary to fight a people’s war for epidemic prevention and control.”

The Heihe government also called on residents to report “other suspicious clues that may be related to the spread of the virus,” including illegal hunting, cross-border fishing and smuggling, while threatening punishment for “those who deliberately conceal or refuse to provide true information” to contact tracers.

In addition to Heilongjiang province, which encompasses Heihe, new outbreaks have also been seen in Henan, Beijing, Gansu and Hebei in recent weeks, prompting local and provincial governments to intensify contact tracing and impose new restrictions in line with China’s general zero-COVID policy.

In the central province of Henan, officials vowed this week to contain and eradicate a new flare-up by November 15, with its party secretary Lou Yangsheng calling for the “monitoring and management” of all inbound visitors and “strict COVID-19 policies in schools,” among other measures.