WEB DESK
China’s daily new COVID cases continue to surge as the country today reported 23,276 new COVID-19 infections for Nov. 16, mirroring the record numbers reached during the peak of Shanghai’s massive outbreak earlier this year. China’s National Health Commission said on Thursday that 2,388 were symptomatic cases and 20,888 were asymptomatic. Yesterday, China announced 20,199 new cases for Nov. 15, out of which 1,623 were symptomatic and 18,576 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.
The surge is recorded in many major cities as the national tally almost doubled since officials tweaked the “zero-COVID” policy on Friday. This has stoked a lot of confusion and thrown a new challenge as under newly relaxed rules, regional authorities have been told to contain new outbreaks without imposing excessive measures. It seems however, authorities are not prepared to handle this new situation as uncertainties remain over the direction of new policy which was released by China’s apex decision making body – the newly constituted Politburo Standing Committee headed by President Xi Jinping.
At present, Guangzhou, an industrial export hub in the south is facing country’s largest outbreak with more than 8700 new locally transmitted cases announced today for Nov. 16, compared with about 6300 cases a day before, local authorities said. Earlier this week, videos posted online showed crowds came out on streets in a rare protest, pulling down barriers in Guangzhou in a densely built area that is home to migrant workers in the clothing industry who lost their livelihood due to the prolonged lockdowns. Guangzhou, a city in the south of nearly 19 million people, has already elaborate put millions in lockdown kind of situation bringing movement restrictions back.
China’s capital Beijing today reported 431 new cases, compared with 371 cases the previous day, local government data showed. This small fraction of its 21-million population was enough to trigger localized lockdowns and quarantines under China’s “zero-COVID” policy. Chinese authorities locked down the prestigious Peking University in Beijing on Wednesday after finding one COVID-19 case under the “optimized and targeted” “zero-COVID” approach despite growing public discontent. The 124-year-old Peking University has more than 40,000 students on multiple campuses, most in Beijing and its alumni include leading intellectuals, writers, politicians and businesspeople.
Other cities with major outbreaks include Chongqing in the southwest, Zhengzhou in Henan province and Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia region in the north. In Zhengzhou late last month, workers fled their dormitories at world’s biggest iPhone factory due to mismanaged COVID lockdown inside the factory. This hit the Apple supply chain and the company subsequently announced that customers would face delays in deliveries of iPhone14 Pro models.
Major manufacturing hub Zhengzhou announced more than 1600 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, compared with 1800 cases a day before. Chongqing reported more than 4000 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, compared with 2800 cases the previous day.
Amid the specter of a repeat of the crippling Shanghai type lockdown which continued for more than two months in summers this year and prompted neighborhood protests, local authorities are trying to find out what constitutes a “targeted and scientific approach” under the new guidelines which tries to minimize the impact on movement and the slowing economy. Chinese officials and state media have reiterated that the government is optimizing but not abandoning its “dynamic” zero-COVID policy.