China has the highest number of Covid cases in TWO YEARS, with clusters emerging in more than a dozen cities.
- China has reported 526 infections in the past 24 hours.
- It was the highest daily figure in the two years since the outbreak in Wuhan.
- It challenges the country’s zero Covid policy to eliminate the virus.
ChinaDaily Covid cases today rose to their highest level since the outbreak began in Wuhan two years ago.
Beijing officials have recorded 526 infections in the past 24 hours, including 312 cases that were asymptomatic – without any symptoms.
Outbreaks are occurring in dozens of cities, including the financial center of Shanghai, the northern port city of Qingdao and the southern city of Dongguan.
Data on Covid deaths and hospitalizations has not been released.
China is the latest major country to pursue a brutal “zero Covid” strategy that calls for lockdowns and mass testing when the virus is detected.
He struggles to contain the more contagious variant of Omicron after a study found the national home vaccine offered little to no protection against the strain.
Suzhou, a city of 6.7 million near Shanghai, is currently under lockdown along with Baise, a city of 3.6 million near the border with Vietnam.
Beijing has been repeatedly accused of manipulating Covid data during the pandemic to make outbreaks look less serious.
In neighboring Hong Kong, hospitals and quarantine centers are overwhelmed due to the escalation of Covid cases. The death toll from the virus is also on the rise, with 233 cases reported yesterday, up from 82 just a week ago.
China’s daily Covid count for the past year is shown above. Daily cases have now risen sharply to their highest level since the initial outbreak in Wuhan.
Outbreaks are concentrated in several cities, including Shanghai and Qingdao. There have also been major outbreaks in Hong Kong, which are pictured above a health worker today.
Lower vaccination rates and questions about how well Chinese vaccines are working are thought to be behind the higher levels. Pictured above are refrigerated containers in Hong Kong amid the March 5 outbreak.
More than 15,000 cases were reported in China in a single day when the SARS-CoV-2 virus was at the peak of its initial outbreak back in February 2020.
But since then, the nation of 1.4 billion has insisted cases are in the hundreds or fewer, even as other countries face rising waves of infections.
Outbreaks in several major cities suggest that the current measures cannot stop Omicron.
Last week, a leading Chinese scientist said the country should strive to coexist with the virus and may abandon its zero-tolerance strategy “in the near future.”
However, National People’s Congress spokesman Zhang Yesui denounced the idea last week ahead of China’s annual parliamentary meetings, which set policy for the coming year.
“The path is right and the results are good,” Zhang said.
“Any prevention and control measures will come at a cost, but compared to protecting human life and health, those costs are worth it.”
Scientists at Yale University in the US have warned that China’s CoronaVac vaccine may not protect against Omicron.
Pictured, a corpse is transported to a mortuary in Hong Kong, China on March 5.
Laboratory tests showed that it produced “undetectable” levels of antibodies against the virus after two doses.
China says more than 85 percent of its population – or 1.23 billion people – have received two doses of the vaccine.
In neighboring Hong Kong, hospitals and quarantine centers are overwhelmed due to the escalation of Covid cases.
Health centers reached 90 percent capacity last week, while quarantine facilities are also stretched to the limit as the city records a record number of infections.
But this is due to the city’s strict Covid rules, which require anyone who tests positive to be admitted to a hospital or isolation room, no matter how sick they are.
This has resulted in even asymptomatic people and people with mild conditions being sent to hospitals or quarantine centers.
With growing anger at the government, officials are now considering adjusting strategy as the system is overwhelmed.