(Yicai Global) May 15 -- The city of Jilin in the eponymous Chinese province has raised its Covid-19 epidemic prevention level to high-risk after the northeastern municipality reported a cluster of new confirmed cases in a week, and all of them linked to one laundry worker.

The laundry worker in nearby Shulan city was diagnosed with Covid-19 on May 7, infecting 28 people by May 15. One of those had traveled to neighboring Liaoning province’s capital city of Shenyang before getting diagnosed. Health authorities have not yet found out who infected the laundry employee.

No trains out of Jilin. A local train station looked empty as the city, located more than 2,000 kilometers away from Wuhan, closed itself off from the rest of the country, except for cargo transport. Schools and entertainment venues were shut, gatherings banned, and restaurants can only offer takeout. People who want to drive out the province must provide a negative nucleic acid test done within 48 hours.

Police were patrolling a highway toll station.

People needed to have their body temperatures checked to enter residential communities.

A community worker was disinfecting apartment building staircases.

The office of the State Grid was also shut.

People could buy affordable face masks from vending machines.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine