The recent outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant in China is prompting mass testing and leading leaders to review restrictions when they want to contain the deadly virus.
China is dealing with more than 300 new cases in more than 20 different cities, with 144 different medium- and high-risk areas-the most since the first outbreak in early 2020. The country has reported 4,636 deaths out of 93,000 confirmed cases.
Although the epidemic situation in countries such as China, Japan and South Korea is getting worse, Southeast Asia has keenly felt the sharp edge of the delta wave, and the number of cases and deaths in these countries has risen rapidly. https://t.co/EKz3VqxlZ3
— CNN (@CNN) August 5, 2021
Since the outbreak, China has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy to isolate each case to prevent new infections and further outbreaks abroad. The actions of the Chinese government have affected the daily work and lives of millions of people, indicating that government officials need to control the virus without shutting down the country.
According to the Hubei Provincial Health Commission, 7 cases of infection were reported in Wuhan on Monday and 20 cases were reported on Wednesday, including 8 cases of asymptomatic infections. In January 2020, this city of 11 million people was blocked for 76 days, which proved to be a success. The proliferation of Delta variants has put officials on high alert, and some people worry about another strict lockdown. During the initial lockdown in Wuhan, millions of citizens had to stay at home, relying on officials and volunteers to meet their daily needs.
The ongoing epidemic began in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province in eastern China. It is related to the Russian plane arriving at Nanjing Lukou International Airport on July 10.
“It is believed that the cleaners did not follow the strict epidemic prevention guidelines after cleaning the CA910 flight, and therefore contracted the virus. The infection was further spread to colleagues responsible for cleaning and transporting garbage on international and domestic flights.” National News Agency Xinhua News Agency reported.
China’s strategy of isolating cities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak is facing difficulties in spreading the more contagious Delta variant.https://t.co/vv3JQlE0Cl
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 5, 2021
The virus has spread to 26 cities, but not all infections are related to Nanjing. On Monday, Zhengzhou reported 63 cases and 50 asymptomatic cases, most of which were related to a hospital outbreak. Outbreaks like this have prompted the Chinese government to impose travel restrictions across the country.
Dr. Wenhong Zhang Implied that his country’s containment strategy might change.
“We will definitely learn more from the ongoing outbreak,” Zhang said, calling this a stress test for the country.
#coronavirus Newest:
-As the Delta covers nearly half of the country, China has implemented new travel and movement restrictions
-WHO seeks to stop boosters and allow poorer countries to catch up
– Infect #Olympic Games Set a new high
-Sydney’s delta outbreak set a recordhttps://t.co/Pq1kReHfQr pic.twitter.com/YZznzmYDAC— Bloomberg (@business) August 5, 2021
China needs to strengthen vaccination procedures to treat infected people while allowing daily life and business travel to proceed normally.
“I don’t think’zero tolerance’ can last,” said Xi Chen, A health economist at the Yale School of Public Health.
When the Winter Olympics come to Beijing in February 2022, China’s handling of the virus will be tested. In 2020, China closed most of the world’s second largest economy and cut off all access to almost all cities with a population of 60 million or more.
