China locks down the northeastern city of Changchun with a population of over nine million as COVID-19 cases are rising. For the first time in about two years, the country’s daily cases are above the 10,00 mark.
Changchung lockdown as COVID-19 cases surge
China starts lockdown again, this time in the city of Changchun as cases are on the rise. Such intensity has only been seen during the initial outbreak in Wuhan. Changchun, the capital of Jilin province in northeastern China is an important industrial base. Currently, the authorities are ordering people to work from home and allowing one person from a household out to buy ‘daily necessities’ every two days.
According to China’s health commission, they are using rapid antigen tests for the first time to control the outbreaks. Moreover, authorities are also cutting travel links as a precautionary measure. The authorities are also closing all non-essential businesses until further notice. Additionally, they are ensuring that people undergo three rounds of COVID-19 testing. The measures are going to be in place until the outbreak shows signs of subsiding.
Coronavirus siutation in China
However, the situation is similar in several Chinese cities as covid cases are surging. Earlier this week, Shanghai ordered schools to stop in-person classes and move online. Similarly, the asymptomatic infections from the Omicron variant are rising Beijing’s daily count to an all-time high since the first outbreak in 2020. Hence, the authorities are following the measures specified under China’s “zero tolerance” approach towards the coronavirus.
“Infections in vaccinated individuals are more likely to be asymptomatic than infections in unvaccinated individuals, and vaccine coverage is now very high in China,” stated Prof Ben Cowling. He is a professor of epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong. As of March 10, Mainland China has recorded over 112,940 covid cases, including those who traveled from abroad.
