In China, 4,420 new locally transmitted diseases were reported on Sunday, the most in the previous six months. Health officials had just a day earlier stated that the nation was adhering to tight zero-Covid restrictions, dimming expectations of the economy restarting. The quantity was the largest since May 6, according to the National Health Commission. 3,659 new local cases had been reported the day before.
Guangzhou, a city in the south, reported 1,259 asymptomatic cases and 66 new locally transmitted symptomatic cases, up from 111 symptomatic cases and 635 asymptomatic instances the day before, according to officials. Compared to 37 symptomatic and five asymptomatic instances the day before, Beijing reported 43 symptomatic and six asymptomatic cases.
China’s anti-Covid actions are “absolutely correct, as well as the most practical and efficient”
Lockdowns, quarantines, and regular testing are still the norm in China even though the rest of the world has resumed normal operations. Businesses have suffered as a result of Apple’s announcement on Sunday that the limits will impact the shipments of the iPhone 14 and cause customers to wait longer to receive their smartphones.
Health officials once again emphasized their “dynamic-clearing” approach to COVID cases as soon as they surface at a news conference on Saturday. Hu Xiang, a disease control officer, remarked that China’s anti-COVID actions are “absolutely correct, as well as the most practical and efficient.” “We should uphold the value of putting people and their lives first, as well as the more general policy of avoiding both external imports and internal rebounds.”
Last week, Chinese equities increased as a result of reports that the COVID limitations may be loosened. It had also been mentioned in the local media that policy changes might be made. However, none of it occurred.
The government still needs to preserve its zero-COVID policy
According to a number of experts, major relaxation is not anticipated to start until after China’s annual legislative session in March. The announcement on Saturday, according to Goldman Sachs analysts, “the government still needs to preserve its zero-COVID policy until all preparations are done, which may take a few months,” they wrote. Their existing “baseline” forecast called for a reopening in the quarter between April and June.
The Beijing marathon, which had been postponed the previous two years, took place on Sunday morning under the stringent protocol.
In total, 26,000 people signed up to attend the occasion, which took place in Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing. Prior to the marathon, participants had to submit PCR tests, and they couldn’t leave Beijing for seven days.