Covid is on the rise in China as the Omicron variant drives the worst outbreak in the country since Wuhan at the beginning of the pandemic.
Thousands of new local cases were reported on Sunday according to the National Health Commission (NHC), with 2,125 cases being reported across 58 cities in 19 of the 31 mainland provinces. Today, a total of 3,507 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms were reported across more than a dozen provinces and municipalities.
This makes it yet another consecutive day that China has reported more than 1,000 local cases daily. On Saturday, 3,122 local cases were reported, making it the highest daily number since Wuhan, and the first time new cases exceeded 3,000 in a day.
China’s caseload is still small by global standards, but the increase in infections will determine whether the country’s “zero-Covid” approach remains effective against faster spreading variants such as Omicron.
More than 10,000 Covid cases have been reported in China since the latest outbreak began earlier this month.
China has enforced a very strict zero-Covid policy throughout the pandemic. Their strategy aimed to stamp out all outbreaks and eliminate any chains of transmission and used a combination of quarantine procedures, lockdowns, mass testing, and strict border controls.
Jilin province in the northeast is home to nearly half of the total infections in the latest outbreak. Since March 1, 4,605 cases have been reported. About half of the cases reported Sunday were also in Jilin province.
Two major cities, Changchun and Shenzhen, are currently under lockdown. Changchun is a major industrial hub in the northeast, and Shenzhen is a major economic hub in the south, meaning more than 26 minion residents are now on lockdown and unable to leave their homes.
Chinese officials have been under pressure to control outbreaks. Higher administrations have reprimanded government officials in charge of Covid for “poor performance” as case numbers rise.
At least 26 government officials were dismissed this month alone in cities where outbreaks have occurred.
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