(Beijing) The daily number of COVID-19 cases has hit a new high in China, authorities said Thursday as they work to stem the spread of the virus through strict lockdowns, mass testing and restrictions. of travel.
China listed 31,454 cases on Wednesday, of which 27,517 are asymptomatic, the national health bureau said.
The new figures are higher than the 29,390 infections recorded in mid-April, when Shanghai – the world’s third most populous city – was under lockdown and its residents struggled to buy food and access medical care.
China, with a population of more than 1.2 billion, is the only major economy in the world still trying to stem the spread of the virus in the country, shutting down entire cities and placing contacts of infected patients in strict quarantine.
The Chinese capital has been experiencing an epidemic outbreak in recent days not seen since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic. Dozens of residential buildings have been confined and companies are generalizing teleworking.
The city of Beijing announced Wednesday nearly 1,500 new positive cases (the vast majority asymptomatic) for 22 million inhabitants. A level never reached in the capital since the start of the pandemic, but which remains very low according to international criteria.
Schools, restaurants and businesses closed again, fear of being placed in quarantine: a large part of the inhabitants of Beijing are now mentally exhausted by these restrictions, which are often vague and changing, the duration of which is never announced in advance.