Thousands of Chinese tourists have become stranded in Tibet as the region suffers a spike in coronavirus cases and provinces impose restrictions on travel from the area.
China's National Health Commission said Tibet recorded 550 new cases on yesterday, compared with 549 a day earlier.
A Tibet government spokesperson said nearly 4,500 tourists remained stranded in Tibet as of the weekend.
Tourists leaving Tibet are required to present two negative PCR tests within three consecutive days, a green code for the COVID-19 tracking app to indicate low-risk status and a negative RAT test at the airport.
The People's Daily newspaper said the outbreak in Tibet had spread to various provinces, not only the neighbouring province of Qinghai, but as far as Zhejiang province, which is next to the financial hub Shanghai.
Fujian, Hubei and Hunan provinces have all reported positive COVID-19 cases among people who have travelled to Tibet.
Chinese media outlet Caixin reported that several coronavirus cases were detected from people who travelled by train from Tibet's capital Lhasa to Beijing and Shanghai.
At least 33 people tested positive for the virus on the Z22 train from Tibet to the Chinese capital and more passengers tested positive on the Z166 train from Lhasa to Shanghai.
The state-owned Tibet Daily said in a WeChat post that the Tibetan government was "strictly preventing the spread of the pandemic and ensuring an orderly exit from the region".
According to China Central Television, medical personnel from Gansu, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shannxi provinces have been sent to the region to help conduct PCR tests.
Shunfeng, one of China's major courier companies, has operated nine chartered flights for medical supplies to Tibet, local media said.
Stranded for days on a highway
As the outbreak worsened last week, many tourists found themselves stranded on a highway in the province after a nearby region blocked entry from Tibet.
Authorities in Deqin county, in the south-west province of Yunnan, said its quarantine system had reached capacity for people arriving from Tibet, leaving hundreds stuck on the highway leading up to the border.
Pictures and video on social media show officials covered in PPE handing out food and bottles of water to people waiting in cars on the highway.
Other vision from social media showed people setting up tents and cooking meals by their cars on the side of the road.
The line-up was believed to have stretched for several kilometres.
Shouxin, a vlogger on social media platform Xiaohongshu, captured her experiences on the road.
She said she was stuck on the G214 highway for three days and then drove more than six hours to a hotel in Shangri-La for a further seven days of quarantine.
"Today is the sixth day of my quarantine. The medical staff told me that I would have another PCR test tomorrow at 6:00am, and I will be able to leave once I receive the result," she wrote in a post on August 22.
China COVID-19 cases reach a three-month high
The recent outbreak started on August 7 when four tourists tested positive for the virus in Ngari prefecture, according to the Tibet Autonomous Region government.
Cases jumped to 18 the next day as residents in Lhasa also tested positive.
Since August 9, the virus has spread dramatically in major tourist destinations like Shigatse, Nyingchi and Shannan, home to popular Buddhist temples and scenic hotspots.
Local officials shut down the famous Potala Palace, the former home of the exiled Dalai Lama, which is a key tourist drawcard for thousands of visitors each year.
China's coronavirus cases have reached a three-month high. The last major outbreak saw the populous city of Shanghai locked down.
China reported 1,895 new COVID-19 infections yesterday, compared with 1,985 new cases a day earlier, according to the National Health Commission.
China is adopting a COVID-zero strategy which involves lockdowns and quarantine. Far-reaching measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in China are not uncommon.
Last week in Shanghai, customers at an Ikea store were shut in over two possible COVID-19 cases. It caused some to burst out of the store and past staff who were trying to keep them in.
About 80,000 tourists were stranded in the holiday island of Hainan earlier this month after coronavirus cases soared and the area became an infection hotspot.
