(Beijing) China registered 3,393 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, official data showed, a record since the outbreak began in February 2020.
Posted at 9:47 p.m.
Updated at 10:21 p.m.
Due to a spike in cases across the country, authorities have closed schools in Shanghai and locked down several northeastern cities, while more than ten provinces are racing to contain local outbreaks.
Residents of the large city of Jilin, which has reported more than 500 cases of the Omicron variant, had completed their six rounds of mandatory screening tests by Sunday, according to local authorities. On Saturday, several hundred neighborhoods in the city were confined.
Changchun, a neighboring city and industrial base of 9 million inhabitants, was put under a bell on Friday.
This “shows that the spread of Omicron is […] highly contagious, rapid and difficult to detect in the early stages” of transmission, Jilin provincial health official Zhang Yan said at a press conference on Sunday.
“It also reflects the rapid rise […] of the virus in the different regions and the lack of […] medical resources,” causing delays in admitting hospitals and treating patients, he added.
Jilin’s mayor and Changchun’s health official were removed from their posts on Saturday, state media reported.
The spike comes as cases spiral out of control in southern China’s Hong Kong territory, where tens of thousands of cases are being seen every day and hospitals are overflowing with patients.
China’s borders remain virtually closed as policymakers continue to enforce a zero-tolerance approach to the virus.
China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is responding to outbreaks with local lockdowns, mass screening, and population control through smartphone apps. tracing.