Strict lockdowns imposed in Chinese provinces after rising Covid Delta variant cases!

Beijing, Aug 3: After a surge of Delta variant spreading far and wide in China, the country where the coronavirus outbreak broke out, is facing its biggest Covid outbreak since the disease first emerged there in late 2019.

 

 

 

According to the reports, China has reported more local cases in 20 days than in the previous five months combined. At least 15 of the nation's 31 provinces have confirmed Delta strain infections over the past two weeks, marking China's biggest outbreak since 2020. The disease's spread is believed to have started from a foreign flight at Nanjing's airport in early July.

 

The National Health Commission (NHC) said 328 cases have been reported since last month, including in the central city of Wuhan, the origin epicenter of the global pandemic. Authorities reported 99 new cases on Monday, according to reports.

 

 

Millions are now in lockdown as authorities lock down cities and restrict travel to arrest the contagion's further spread. The outbreak has been sparked in part by a recent easing of mask-wearing and social distancing, a laxity caused by the fact the country was Covid-free for many months

 

China's strict Covid containment measures, including mass testing as soon as a case appears, pervasive contact tracing, widespread use of quarantines and targeted lockdowns, have subdued more than 30 previous flareups over the past year.

 

 

While the infection figure is still modest by international standards, the NHC does not count asymptomatic carriers in its case tally and official figures are known to be conservative given the widespread tendency for underreporting. Wuhan city in Central China's Hubei province on Tuesday announced that it will test the city's entire population of 11 million for the coronavirus virus in wake of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. 

 

The announcement comes after the tourist destination of Zhangjiajie in central China's Hunan province as well as nearby Zhuzhou city-issued similar orders in recent days to more than two million people combined. China reported 61 domestic cases on Tuesday as an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant reached dozens of cities.

As the new COVID-19 cases have been reported in at least 18 Chinese provinces, experts in the country have raised alarm due to the latest outbreak in the country fuelled by the spread of the Delta variant.