The Asian giant is the last major world economy to apply a strict so-called zero Covid health policy, which aims to do everything to prevent contamination and therefore deaths.
It consists of imposing confinements as soon as cases appear, compulsory quarantines for people who test positive and almost daily PCR tests to identify the chains of transmission.
The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday more than 24,000 new local positive cases in 24 hours in the country – the vast majority asymptomatic –, a high number for China.
The large manufacturing province of Guangdong (South), where the metropolises of Canton and Shenzhen are located, is by far the most affected.
The capital Beijing, closely watched by the authorities and the media, reported 621 new cases. Residents are confined to their homes and others have been placed in quarantine in dedicated centers.
The deceased man had contracted, in addition to Covid-19, a bacterial infection, according to the municipality. It is officially the first death since the end of May.
Major shopping malls in Beijing announced their closure on Sunday. Others, however, have simply reduced their opening hours or banned table service in their restaurants.
In the district of Chaoyang, seat of the business district and embassies, the authorities have strongly advised companies to switch to teleworking. Many restaurants can no longer accommodate customers, but deliveries are still allowed.
The French school in Beijing announced to the parents of students that it had received the instruction “to switch to distance education”, in an email of which AFP obtained a copy. Other schools in the capital have received similar requests.
Parks, sports halls and gymnasiums have also closed.
– “Grave” –
The number of cases “is experiencing a significant upward trend” and “the scale of the spread (of the outbreak) has further expanded”, lamented Xu Hejian, spokesperson for the Beijing municipality, on Sunday during a a press conference.
“The situation in terms of epidemic prevention and control in the capital is serious (…) We must show determination and take effective measures,” he said without giving details.
The authorities are on a crest line and seem not to want to impose, for the moment, too strong restrictions in the face of a population overwhelmed by anti-Covid measures.
Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, however, called on Sunday to “reduce even more” the movement of residents.
The authorities reiterated their call to avoid “non-imperative” movements between the different Beijing districts.
The metropolis of Guangzhou, which announced more than 8,000 new positive cases on Sunday, launched general screening in the central district of Haizhu, where about 1.8 million inhabitants live.
China announced on November 11 a relaxation of its health policy, with in particular the reduction of quarantines in particular for international arrivals.
A return to normal, however, remains a distant prospect as confinements, quarantines and screenings continue to be imposed on a large scale.
