Covid 19 Restrictions in China: After the number of new daily COVID-19 cases tripled during a monthlong holiday, Chinese cities imposed new lockdowns and travel restrictions ahead of a major Communist Party meeting in Beijing next week.
Tens of millions of people have been ordered to remain at home due to partial or total lockdowns in at least 30 regions.
“We’ve been without flour, rice, and eggs for 15 days. We ran out of milk for the kids a few days ago “one resident of western Xinjiang said
Authorities are working hard to keep local outbreaks under control ahead of the Communist Party’s congress in October.
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The newest lockdown began on Monday in Fenyang, Shanxi Province, after a preliminary positive case was discovered in citywide testing the day before, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The capital of the nearby Inner Mongolia region, Hohhot, announced on Tuesday that outside vehicles and passengers would be prohibited from entering the city. Over the course of about 12 days, Hohhot recorded over 2,000 cases.
Provinces across China have imposed tougher restrictions in an effort to racing to contain the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak in months, with health officials attributing the surge in COVID-19 infections to the highly contagious Delta variant. pic.twitter.com/3RUyu7pjY3
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 1, 2021
As China tightens security and travel restrictions in response to the Covid outbreak, the country has discovered new Omicron sub-variants BF.7 and BA.5.1.7, which are highly infectious and have higher transmissibility. BA.2.75.2 (BF.7) is a sub-lineage of the Covid Omicron variant BA.5.2.1.
The BF.7 was discovered on October 4 in Yantai and Shaoguan, according to local reports. According to Global Times, the subvariant BA.5.1.7 was discovered for the first time on the Chinese mainland.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had previously issued a warning about the highly infectious BF.7 subvariant.
Meanwhile, holiday spending during China’s Golden Week has fallen to its lowest level in seven years, as broad Covid curbs discouraged people from traveling or spending, and a bleak economic outlook has eroded consumer confidence.
Its 21 million residents have been barred from entering or leaving the city, with only residents who can show proof of a negative Covid test being allowed out to purchase necessities.
It comes after a major heatwave in the area and an earthquake earlier this month, which saw residents fleeing their homes met with locked doors.