China has quarantined 1.7 million people in the eastern province of Anhui, where about 300 new cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the past 24 hours.
The Asian country has a zero-tolerance policy for Covid-19, which includes lockdowns of entire cities, mass testing, and isolation of all positive cases and direct contacts.
The outbreak, found in Anhui, comes as the Chinese economy is slowly recovering from a two-month lockdown in Shanghai, China’s economic “capital”.
Two cities in the province, Xixian and Lingbi, have announced lockdowns affecting more than 1.7 million people. Residents are only allowed to leave their homes to perform a nucleic acid test (PCR).
State broadcaster CCTV aired footage of empty streets in Sixian over the weekend as residents lined up to be tested for the novel coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health has recorded 287 new cases in Anhui Province in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in recent days in the province to over 1,000.
Provincial Governor Wang Qingxian urged authorities to “implement rapid tests,” quarantine and report cases as soon as possible.
Neighboring Jiangsu province also reported 56 new cases in four cities in the last 24 hours.
The number of cases in China remains very low compared to the vast majority of other countries.
But authorities are seeking to limit the circulation of the virus as much as possible due to limited medical resources in certain places and relatively low vaccination rates for the elderly. However, this strategy has high economic costs.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
