The Delta variant of the coronavirus has now hit China, the ground zero of the disease. Fifteen cities in China, including capital Beijing, have reported a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases. The national media on Friday said that this was the most extensive domestic contagion since the first COVID outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019.

A new surge of COVID-19 cases, which started from an airport in Nanjing, the capital of east China’s Jiangsu province, has spread to five other provinces and Beijing municipality, the Global Times reported.

After a number of staff tested positive for COVID-19, Nanjing has suspended all flights arriving and departing from the city.

Also read: Beijing records first COVID-19 case in over six months

Cases of the fast spreading Delta variant, first identified in India, were reported from 15 Chinese cities.

Though the number of new cases is still in the few hundreds, concerns rose over the vast spread of the infection in different provinces.

The cause for worry for officials is the sudden emergence of the cases in Beijing after over 175 days of the last case.

The local government of the capital city of about 22 million population and the home of top leadership, including President Xi Jinping, protected the city for several months for the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) centenary celebrations held on July 1.

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China is yet to open its skies for air travel from India and several other countries, and most of the Beijing-bound international flights are diverted to other cities where passengers had to undergo 21 days quarantine before entering the national capital.

However, that bubble reportedly burst a few days ago when a high-ranking official from an African country who checked into a luxury hotel tested positive along with his delegation.