(Bloomberg) -- China sealed off parts of Guiyang, capital of the mountainous southern Guizhou province, as an increase in virus cases triggered a stringent response in line with the country’s Covid Zero strategy. 

Lockdowns will be imposed in almost all communities in six of Guiyang’s 10 districts for four days through the end of Thursday, the local government said in a statement. Residents in the affected areas will only be allowed to leave their homes for Covid tests, and all cab services will be suspended, authorities said.

The moves come after the city of 6.1 million reported 132 virus cases as of Monday morning, 28 more than a day earlier. Guiyang is home to operations for automakers such as Geely Automobile Holdings and battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., raising the prospect of disruption to manufacturing and the economy. China’s stringent Covid policy is weighing on growth, with lockdowns, mandatory quarantines and effectively closed borders still in place almost three years into the pandemic. 

Nationwide, China reported 1,499 cases for Monday, with most infections still found in the southwestern province of Tibet. 

Beijing found one confirmed case and five preliminary cases as of 10 am on Tuesday, local leaders said. The infections, all on the suburban campus of a university in Changping district, are sounding an alarm for virus prevention in the capital city, government spokesman Xu Hejian said. Beijing will intensify its control efforts as the city bans departures to and returns from any district or county where infections have been detected in the past seven days.

The Guiyang lockdown comes as Chengdu, capital city of neighboring Sichuan province, extended a stay-at-home order for its 21 million residents through Wednesday, with mass testing to be continued. The southern technology hub of Shenzhen also continues to be subject to movement controls.

More infectious virus variants are forcing China to lock down more frequently, as officials continue with a policy of wiping out Covid cases. The country has shut down more large and economically important cities in 2022 than at any time during the pandemic, with Shanghai’s prolonged and contentious lockdown providing a cautionary tale for other cities on waiting too long to act forcefully.

China’s Mega Lockdowns Are Coming More and More Frequently

All 31 mainland provinces have recorded at least one local Covid case in the current outbreak, with local media Caixin saying that more than 30 cities have been fully or partially locked down. Chengdu is the biggest city to be put under movement restrictions since Shanghai’s two-month ordeal in the spring. 

Shanghai’s Two-Month Lockdown Is Still Rippling Through Economy

(Updates with national number count and latest in Beijing in the fourth and fifth paragraphs)

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