China returns to lockdown as it battles worst COVID outbreak in 2 yrs; Here're key updates

While most countries around the world have reopened to post-coronavirus life, China on Sunday reported nearly 3,400 COVID-19 cases in a fresh new outbreak. The rising daily caseload has forced Beijing to reimpose lockdown on virus hotspots as the country is witnessing the worst flare-up in two years of the pandemic. The country-wide escalation in cases has led to lockdowns in as many as 19 provinces of China.

The latest spike in asymptomatic cases has pushed closures of schools in Shanghai and many more in the north-eastern cities of China. The fresh infections have reportedly been distributed between the highly-transmissible Omicron and the Delta variant. Meanwhile, as the cases climbed, "virus response so far has been lacking," an official with Jilin provincial health commission, Zhang Yan, flagged as quoted by The Guardian.

Here are all the key COVID-19 developments from China:

1. China on Sunday recorded 3,100 locally transmitted cases after clocking 1,000 cases for two days in a row, the Chinese National Health Commission informed.

2. According to the South China Morning Post, local health authorities attributed the cases to the Omicron variant due to its vaccine-evasive and asymptomatic nature.

3. After completing six rounds of mass testing, Jilin province on Sunday reported 500 cases of the Omicron variant, The Guardian reported. The province was reportedly under lockdown on Thursday and Friday.

4. Neighbouring cities Siping and Dunhua also remained under lockdown following announcements from local authorities.

5. Meanwhile, the Mayor of Jilin and head of its adjacent city Changchun's health commission were dismissed from service on Saturday after they failed to squash virus clusters in their respective areas.

6. Changchun with a population of nine million was put under unprecedented lockdown since March 1. The high-tech city of Shenzhen, with a population of over 17 million, was asked to suspend all bus and metro services from Monday for the next seven days.

7. Chinese authorities also imposed restrictions on schools, restaurants, malls and other public places. Malls and businesses were also shut down in the post populous urban city and global financial hub of Shanghai.

China opts for Rapid Antigen Tests for quick diagnosis of COVID-19

According to The Guardian report, fatigue has gripped China after weeks of lockdown failed to mitigate community transmission. As per reports, Beijing officials have now begun to implement targeted measures to clamp down the spread as a threat to the economy still looms in the wake of tough lockdowns. From Friday, China also allowed the use of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) for speedy diagnosis of COVID-19 through "self-testing."

The approach is completely in contrast to the most-favoured zero-COVID policy that China vouched for until the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 that was held in February. Notably, the situation is worst in Hong Kong, where officials confirmed 27,647 new COVID-19 cases and 87 fatalities on Sunday. South China Morning Post on Sunday reported that since the inception of the pandemic in December 2019 from Wuhan, now, China is on the brink of its "biggest crisis." Globally, the two-year-long running COVID-19 pandemic has infected 45.8 crore people and claimed lives of 60.4 lakhs. 

(With inputs from PTI, Image: AP/Shutterstock)