Covid-19 cases in China are on rise, with 15,000 cases reported since March 1
Key Takeaways:
- On Tuesday, China reported over 5,200 new Covid-19 cases, including 3507 symptomatic cases, more than doubling the total from the previous day.
- Over 8,201 patients have been admitted to hospitals in Jilin province, according to the NHC, with over 95 percent of them having mild cases or being silent carriers.
China reported over 5,200 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, including 3507 symptomatic cases, more than doubling the previous day's total, with the country-wide outbreak spreading quickly in the northeast.
Since March 1 further, more than 15,000 new cases have been reported on the mainland, affecting 28 provinces and municipalities, according to the national health commission (NHC).
According to NHC spokesperson Mi Feng, the main variant spreading in several parts of China is the "stealth Omicron," which spreads faster than other variants.
Millions of people throughout the nation are facing new travel restrictions, including the entire Jilin province, which was shut down on Monday, and Shenzhen, the country's technology hub.
Nearly a dozen cities, as well as counties throughout China, have been quarantined to contain the new outbreak, which is the worst since the virus was first discovered in late 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Several companies, including MNCs like Toyota, Volkswagen, and Apple supplier Foxconn, have been impacted, raising concerns that global supply chains may be disrupted.
On Tuesday morning, dozens of domestic flights were canceled at airports in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as large-scale mass tests were instructed in both cities. "Of the latest local infections, 3,076 were reported in Jilin, 106 in Shandong, 53 in Shaanxi, 51 in Tianjin, 48 in Guangdong, 33 in Fujian, 31 in Zhejiang, 24 in Liaoning, 20 in Jiangsu, 13 in Hebei, and 10 in Chongqing," according to the daily NHC report cited by the official news agency Xinhua on Tuesday.
According to the NHC, over 8,201 patients have been admitted to hospitals in Jilin province, with more than 95 percent of them having mild cases or being silent carriers.
According to local media reports, more than 1,000 medical personnel have been flown in from other provinces, together with pandemic response supplies. The province had also mobilized 7,000 military reservists to assist with the response.
Despite criticism of China's strict "dynamic clearance" approach to outbreaks, particularly those caused by the Omicron strain, the Chinese govt is likely to stick to the policy for the time being. "It is clear that adhering to current prevention and control measures is critical.
For a Nation with such a huge population, a hasty and premature relaxation of the dynamic zero-Covid policy risks eroding the hard-won prevention and control gains made earlier in the process. It may also result in severe consequences shortly," the official news agency, Xinhua, wrote in an opinion piece on Tuesday.
"In comparison to China's massive population, the number of infections, severe cases, and deaths associated with novel coronavirus pneumonia is very tiny, and the imported epidemic condition can be curbed quickly, demonstrating that the prevention, as well as control measures, are effective and efficient," the opinion piece continued.