China’s “zero covid” approach is another lockdown for an entire city. The reason for this are 32 new cases of the delta variant.
Beijing – A new outbreak of the delta variant of the coronavirus has resulted in far-reaching restrictions for people in southeast China. The authorities in the coastal metropolis of Xiamen in Fujian Province urged residents not to leave the city on Tuesday.
Major events have been canceled, and restaurants and shopping malls have been instructed to reduce the number of visitors. Schools switched to online teaching. The measures came after 32 new corona cases were discovered in the city on Monday, bringing the number of infections in Fujian province to over 100 since last week.
The current outbreak originated in the city of Putian, which is north of Xiamen. It has been suggested that a family man brought the virus in after returning from Singapore. The man traveled back to China on August 4, spent 21 days in quarantine and tested negative for the virus nine times. Last Friday, however, a test was positive. Putian has also been in lockdown since the weekend.
The Chinese government is pursuing a “zero covid strategy”. With curfews, mass tests, contact tracing, quarantine and strict entry restrictions, the country has the coronavirus largely under control. Most recently, there had been an accumulation of local outbreaks of the delta variant, which, however, have so far always been brought back under control with strict measures. dpa
