Lagatar24 Desk
Beijing, Nov.15: China is fighting its largest COVID-19 outbreak, which is caused by the highly transmissible Delta strain, with some districts banning individuals from a northeastern city where infections have spread faster than elsewhere in the country in the last week.
Between Oct. 17 and Nov. 14, a total of 1,308 domestically transmitted diseases with verified symptoms were detected on the mainland, surpassing the 1,280 local cases registered during the summer Delta outbreak, according to Reuters calculations based on official statistics.
This is China’s largest Delta outbreak, with 21 provinces, regions, and municipalities affected. Although it is lesser than many previous epidemics in other countries, Chinese authorities are eager to stop the spread as part of the government’s zero-tolerance policy.
A dozen province-level regions were able to contain their flare-ups in a matter of weeks thanks to the rapid implementation of a complex set of controls, which included rigorous contact tracing, multiple rounds of testing of people in high-risk areas, the closure of entertainment and cultural venues, and restrictions on tourism and public transportation.
The northeastern city of Dalian, on the other hand, is fighting the illness, according to Wu Liangyou, a National Health Commission official, who spoke at a Saturday news conference.
According to a Reuters calculation, since the first local symptomatic patients from the newest outbreak were recorded on Nov. 4, Dalian, a city of 7.5 million people, has detected an average of approximately 24 new local cases per day, more than any other Chinese city.
People arriving from Dalian were quarantined at centralised facilities for 14 days before being allowed to wander freely in a few cities around Dalian, including Dandong, Anshan, and Shenyang.
Mainland China had reported 98,315 confirmed coronavirus cases with symptoms as of Nov. 14, including both domestically transmitted and international illnesses. A total of 4,636 people have died.
