Chinese province closes tourist sites following virus cases

A northwestern Chinese province heavily dependent on tourism has closed all tourist sites after finding new COVID-19 cases

BEIJING -- A northwestern Chinese province heavily dependent on tourism closed all tourist sites Monday after finding new COVID-19 cases.

Gansu province lies along the ancient Silk Road and is famed for the Dunhuang grottoes filled with Buddhist images and other religious sites.

The National Health Commission said 35 new cases of local transmission had been detected over the past 24 hours, four of them in Gansu.

Another 19 cases were found in the Inner Mongolia region, with others spread across several provinces and cities. Residents in parts of Inner Mongolia have been ordered to stay indoors.