COVID-19: China strengthens its response to a “serious” epidemic rebound

Beijing | “Serious and complicated” situation: In the 100 days since the Beijing Winter Olympics, at a time when the country’s COVID-19 epidemic is on the rise, the Chinese capital is tightening its health restrictions.

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Imperial City, which hosted the Summer Games in 2008, will be the first city in the world to host the Winter Olympics next February.

In this case, the authorities, who are applying the zero tolerance policy for the minor case of COVID-19, have taken great steps to eradicate an epidemic that is very limited with less than 300 cases.

Fourteen of the thirty provinces owned by the Asian giant were affected and the virus reached Beijing ten days ago.

If these figures seem ridiculous compared to those recorded daily in other parts of the world, they are urging officials to double their vigilance ahead of the Winter Olympics, which begin on February 4.

To prevent the epidemic, the municipality said all movie theaters in Beijing’s Zhecheng district would have to close by November 14.

The district, with its western neighborhood to Tiananmen Square, has a population of over one million.

The move comes as China nationally reported 59 new locally emerging Kovid cases on Saturday, the highest level since mid-September.

Among them, two additional cases in Beijing.

Universal Studios Park, which opened in late September, announced on Saturday the presence of contact cases among its visitors last weekend.

All of the staff tested negative and no trace of the virus was found, guaranteeing the park, which strengthened its employees’ screening and vaccinations.

China, which discovered the first Kovid cases almost two years ago, has since largely controlled the infection on its soil.

Since the spring of 2020 life has returned to normal and only two deaths a year have been reported in the country.

However, localized foci occasionally appear.

The latest belongs to the region bordering Mongolia. An elderly couple who went on a trip there helped spread the virus to other areas.

In terms of health, the situation is “serious and complex,” Health Ministry spokesman Mi Feng told the Associated Press on Saturday, stressing the virus’s spread.

Guo Yanhong, a health ministry official, said the proportion of serious cases was also higher than previous epidemic rebounds.

According to her, 40% of patients are over 60 years old.

As a precaution there are about six million Chinese in Lockdown across the country.

The large city of Lanzhou (northwest) created a surprise on Tuesday, banning people from leaving their homes unless there was a compelling reason.

Therefore, and with large-scale testing, the spread of the virus will be under control “within a month”, said virologist Zhang Nanshan, one of the people in the fight against COVID, on Saturday.

However, he warned that the virus “could not be eradicated in the short term.”

Admission to multiple destinations is now conditional on performing a negative test, especially for travelers from areas where recent cases have been reported.

Nearly half of flights from two major airports in Beijing were canceled on Friday. Officials are advising not to leave the capital unless necessary.

They also urged Beijing residents to postpone weddings.