Chengdu, Chinese city of 21m, has Covid lockdown extended indefinitely

Staff at Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital test Covid samples at a mobile laboratory as authorities battle a coronavirus outbreak and extend a lockdown in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. Photograph: Reuters

Chengdu, the capital of the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan, has extended the coronavirus lockdown of most of its districts indefinitely as it hopes to stem further transmissions in the city of 21.2 million.

The mega city, which has most recently battled with heatwaves, power cuts and an earthquake, was locked down on 1 September after detecting a number of cases, becoming the largest Chinese metropolis to be slapped with the curbs since Shanghai earlier this year.