China imposes lockdown amid the ongoing covid outbreak, should we worry?
Highlights:
OMICRON VARIANT
TESTING
SURGE IN CASES
LOCKDOWNS
COVID-FREE POLICY
HONG KONG SITUATION
WORST SINCE WUHAN
As most countries worldwide open up and have resumed everyday life, China is currently seeing its most severe outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in the past two years. On March 13, the country reported 3100 newly reported locally transmitted cases in a single day, the highest in two years.
OMICRON VARIANT
Some local authorities have attributed the surge in outbreaks to the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible but causes less severe symptoms than the original Covid-19 virus.
TESTING
As part of its response to the new outbreak, China has decided to use rapid antigen tests to diagnose Covid-19 for the first time. This has been done to boost the early discovery of cases.
This week, Shenzhen will conduct three rounds of citywide Covid-19 tests.
SURGE IN CASES
New locally transmitted cases in China have surged to more than 3,100 for the second day in a row, the National Health Commission reported on Sunday. It is the largest number in two years.
LOCKDOWNS
To contain the spread of the virus, the Chinese government put the high-tech Shenzhen city with a population of over 17 million under lockdown. Shenzhen will seal all community villages and suspend bus and metro services for an entire week. On March 14, Jilin City was partially locked down while Yanjim, an urban area of 700000 people, was placed under lockdown from March 13, 2022. Meanwhile, Changchun, an industrial base of nine million people, was locked down on March 11, while a few other cities have been closed down since March 1.
Besides total lockdowns, authorities are also imposing local curbs on schools, restaurants, malls, and other public places to stop the spread of the virus. As part of its response to the ongoing outbreak, China has decided to use rapid antigen tests to diagnose Covid-19 for the first time.
COVID-FREE POLICY
China recently ranked among the top performers in curbing the Covid pandemic, according to a top Chinese official, who credited its success to its strict zero-case policy that restricts national and international travel with proactive local lockdowns wherever the virus surfaced. Because of a surge in Covid cases in several cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, the country’s Covid control strategy is being questioned.
HONG KONG SITUATION
The situation in Hong Kong has also deteriorated further. Officials confirmed 27,647 new Covid-19 cases and 87 deaths in Hong Kong on Sunday.
WORST SINCE WUHAN
According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, China was on the verge of its biggest crisis since Wuhan over Covid-19.
Top Chinese officials claimed earlier this month that China has been one of the most successful countries in stopping the Covid pandemic, attributing its success to its strict zero-case policy of preventing national and international travel, as well as proactive lockdowns everywhere the virus appeared. The Corona virus has affected over 6 million people since it was first discovered in Wuhan in December 2019.
