Before the strong spreading wave of the Omicron mutation, Chinese authorities decided to increase testing and blockade, including the blockade of two major cities Shenzhen and Jilin.
According to Asia Times, on March 13, China locked down two major cities, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Changchun in Jilin province after the Covid-19 epidemic broke out in different areas.
A total of 3,122 cases of Covid-19 infection were recorded in 19 provinces in China, including 2,156 cases in Jilin province. At least 26 officials in Guangdong, Jilin and Shandong provinces have been dismissed for failing to contain the outbreak in the past few weeks.
The city-wide blockade has been controversial due to shortages of food and essentials. Some elderly people and pregnant women cannot be admitted to the hospital because they do not have a certificate of negative test results.
Chinese medical experts recommend that the country's major cities maintain a "No Covid" policy, but avoid prolonged shutdowns because the Omicron variant is less deadly than previous strains. Experts also say that China should strike a balance between virus control and economic growth
Variant Omicron is spreading hard to control
When the Omicron variant appears in late 2021 and is highly contagious, most of China's provinces and cities will still be able to achieve the zero-contagion goal, except for the provinces of Xi'an, Tianjin and Henan.
However, in recent days, the number of recorded Covid-19 cases has increased sharply in many parts of China.
On March 9, Jilin province recorded 344 infections, most of which were identified at Jilin University of Agricultural Science and Technology. Students on campus appealed for help on social media because they couldn't leave campus and didn't have enough food and necessities.
As of March 11, Jilin province recorded 1,100 new infections, 64% of which were asymptomatic. On the same day, the Jilin provincial government announced a blockade of Changchun city to prevent the spread of the disease.
In the city of Shenzhen, 66 cases of Covid-19 were recorded on March 13. On the same day, the city announced a total blockade for a long period of 7 days. The Shenzhen government representative said that the outbreak in Futian, Nanshan, Luohu and Longgang districts can be traced back to some cases of entry from Hong Kong in mid-February.
According to a government official in Shenzhen, the number of infections continues to increase and there have been many small-scale clusters in urban villages and factories. This indicates a high risk of community transmission and still requires even more stringent precautions.
In recent days, many provinces in China have also recorded cases of Covid-19 infection. Shanghai has also recorded many asymptomatic Covid-19 patients in recent days. On March 11, about 49,000 people were isolated and required to undergo tests.
On February 28, Chinese state media quoted Zeng Guang, a member of the senior expert panel of the National Health Commission, as saying that China will soon announce a roadmap for the strategy. living with the virus" in the Chinese style.
It is important to prevent local spread, but this does not mean that China only imposes a blockade and screening tests, a Chinese expert said. The most urgent tasks for China at the moment are to vaccinate the elderly, find supplies for Covid-19 drugs and rapid test kits, and improve the classification system in hospitals.
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