BEJING: The local daily Covid infection rate in China has reached its highest level since early May, with lockdowns across the country.
According to the National Health Commission, 3,800 new cases were reported on Thursday, a 22% jump from the previous day and the highest since the country emerged from its biggest outbreak in the spring. An outbreak in the southern industrial heartland of Guangzhou continues to gather pace after at least one district in the city halted in-person teaching and dining, with 572 household infections reported on Friday.
A growing number of outbreaks have emerged despite stealth shutdowns and targeted restrictions enacted in several regions as China continues to adhere to a Covid Zero Politics. A senior health official’s speech this week signaled no planned changes to President Xi Jinping’s favored zero-tolerance approach, which includes tough border restrictions, mass testing and lockdowns every times there is a push.
Inner Mongolia, which has detected 764 infections, currently accounts for the highest number of cases among Chinese provinces. Restrictions are in place for most of the North West region, where outbreaks are difficult to eradicate in the vast remote region. Most parts of Xinjiang have been locked down for more than 80 days, with signs on social media indicating that local residents are growing increasingly desperate for the indefinite home quarantine.
Zhengzhou, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, locked down the area around technology group Foxconn’s facilities on Wednesday after an outcry over an outbreak there. Dozens of workers were seen fleeing the factory on foot to escape the “closed loop” system that was crippling daily life.
Production at the Foxconn plant has essentially returned to normal, local officials said at a city news conference Thursday evening.
According to the National Health Commission, 3,800 new cases were reported on Thursday, a 22% jump from the previous day and the highest since the country emerged from its biggest outbreak in the spring. An outbreak in the southern industrial heartland of Guangzhou continues to gather pace after at least one district in the city halted in-person teaching and dining, with 572 household infections reported on Friday.
A growing number of outbreaks have emerged despite stealth shutdowns and targeted restrictions enacted in several regions as China continues to adhere to a Covid Zero Politics. A senior health official’s speech this week signaled no planned changes to President Xi Jinping’s favored zero-tolerance approach, which includes tough border restrictions, mass testing and lockdowns every times there is a push.
Inner Mongolia, which has detected 764 infections, currently accounts for the highest number of cases among Chinese provinces. Restrictions are in place for most of the North West region, where outbreaks are difficult to eradicate in the vast remote region. Most parts of Xinjiang have been locked down for more than 80 days, with signs on social media indicating that local residents are growing increasingly desperate for the indefinite home quarantine.
Zhengzhou, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, locked down the area around technology group Foxconn’s facilities on Wednesday after an outcry over an outbreak there. Dozens of workers were seen fleeing the factory on foot to escape the “closed loop” system that was crippling daily life.
Production at the Foxconn plant has essentially returned to normal, local officials said at a city news conference Thursday evening.
