China: More Restrictions In Beijing As Daily Covid Cases Cross 31,000

BEIJING: Data from the National Health Bureau revealed that China's daily Covid cases reached a record level since the pandemic's start, despite the nation's efforts to stop the spread through lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions.

According to the National Health Bureau, China registered a total of 31,454 domestic cases on Wednesday. When compared to China's enormous population of 1.4 billion, the figures are rather tiny.

However, due to Beijing's draconian zero-Covid policy, even small outbreaks can force the closure of entire towns and the strict quarantine of contacts of infected individuals.

The numbers on Wednesday surpass the 29,390 infections that were reported in the middle of April when Shanghai was in lockdown.

After Chaoyang District became the most severely affected neighborhood in the capital's most recent Covid flare-up, health officials recommended residents stay inside.

Over 1,400 cases were reported by local officials in Beijing on Monday, with 783 illnesses found in Chaoyang alone.

For the first time since the pandemic started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, Beijing registered more than 1,000 new cases in a single day. Five people have died so far in Beijing.

As Covid instances increase, a number of cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing, have tightened Covid regulations.

According to Beijing authorities, entry into public locations including hotels, retail centers, and government buildings now requires a negative PCR test result within 48 hours. Online courses are now offered at all of the city's schools.

In order to accommodate patients, the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou, where about a third of the most recent Covid cases were discovered, has constructed hundreds of temporary hospital rooms.

The central government's announcement of a number of new regulations earlier this month seemed to indicate a departure from zero-Covid by easing quarantine requirements for entry and streamlining a system for identifying high-risk areas.

However, China has not yet authorised the use of more potent mRNA vaccines for the general populace, and as of mid-August, only 85% of adults over 60 had received two doses of domestic vaccines, according to health authorities.

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