A partial lockdown also applies in the South China metropolis of Guangzhou. Guangzhou blocks the largest Baiyun district. The 3.7 million inhabitants can only go out with a negative corona test, public transport has been closed. The measures will initially last until Friday.
Omikron makes fun of the zero-Covid policy
China expert John-Boy Vossen sees a period in which the easing of the reins and new restrictions will take over. According to Vossen, the omikron virus points the finger at China’s sore point: the failure of the zero-Covid policy and the inability of the Chinese Communist Party to end the pandemic.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, two things have come together: control of the virus and the success of the party. ‘It worked up to the omikron, but the omikorn is so contagious that the zero-Covid policy hasn’t been able to handle it. There were more infections, criticism of the policy increased, and Xi decided to change the policy slightly. But now that there have been more deaths, the party has jumped and the reins tightened again; “They’re afraid that China’s healthcare system can’t handle it.”
27,000 infections
Beijing has reported more than six hundred new infections. In Guangzhou, the worst-hit city in the country for weeks, there have been around 9,000 corona cases. About 27,000 new cases have been counted nationwide. This weekend, authorities reported three people who had died from the virus, the first deaths from China’s corona since May.
China is enforcing a strict zero-Covid policy, complete with lockdowns, mass testing, stringent checks, source and contact tracing, and enforced quarantine. However, the number of infections has recently increased dramatically because the new omikron variants spread more easily.