Despite zero covid policy and stringent anti-epidemic measures in some localities, the Chinese mainland reported 526 confirmed cases and 3,894 asymptomatic cases over the weekend, Global Times reported citing the data released by the National Health Commission on Sunday. The recent outbreak of covid in some places, such as Zhengzhou in Central China’s Henan Province, has irked the Chinese experts to call for more scientific measures to tackle the viruses and minimize the impact on life and work as local residents are suffering the most under the zero covid policy.
Global Times reported citing the Chinese observers and stated that anti-epidemic measures have brought an excessive impact on the lives of people and that the public are in urgent need of balance between epidemic management and normal daily life. “It is clear that China will continue its efforts to prevent large-scale outbreaks. This is not just a task of local governments, but also the desire of the people, the observers noted.
Notably, the residents in Haizhu district and Guangzhou in South China’s Guangdong Province, are required residents to avoid leaving home unless necessary for three days starting from Saturday, as the city is facing the “most complex and severest outbreak in three years. Guangzhou registered 1,325 positive cases on Saturday alone, among which 1,253 were discovered in the Haizhu district, Zhang Zhoubin from Guangzhou municipal disease prevention and control centre said at a Sunday press conference.
This recent surge comes amid the growing unease over the zero-Covid policy. Notably, Henan province’s Zhengzhou city recently came into the spotlight when a COVID outbreak at an iPhone factory led to the exodus of many workers.
Under China’s strict zero covid policy, cities are given powers to act swiftly to quell any outbreaks of the virus. This includes anything from full-scale lockdowns to regular testing and travel restrictions. Many had hoped President Xi would drop the strict measures before the end of the year but at the recent 20th Communist Party congress, he made clear this was unlikely to happen anytime soon.