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Record COVID-19 infections were recorded in Beijing and a number of other major Chinese cities on Monday, increasing the pressure on the government to quickly contain outbreaks while simultaneously attempting to minimize the effects on people’s lives and on economic activities. The National Health Commission recorded 16,072 new locally transmitted cases nationwide, up from 14,761 on Sunday and the largest in China since April 25, when Shanghai was dealing with its worst outbreak. Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Zhengzhou all experienced their worst day to date, though in the capital there were only a few hundred cases compared to thousands in the other cities.
The number of cases is very low in comparison to the levels of infection seen in other nations, but China’s zero-COVID policy, which requires outbreaks to be stopped as soon as they start, has had a greater negative impact on communities and the economy.
The National Health Commission amended its COVID regulations on Friday, relaxing restrictions to the greatest extent to date. The commission referred to the updates as a “optimization” of its efforts to lessen the impact on people’s lives.
Although lockdowns for people, neighborhoods, and public areas may still be necessary to stop illnesses from spreading, the commission reduced some regulations, such as the length of close contacts’ quarantine periods.
A significant annoyance for those involved in contact-tracing efforts when a case is discovered is that secondary close contacts are no longer detected and placed into isolation.
In an effort to limit the number of persons affected by control measures, areas considered to be at risk of larger outbreaks are now divided into “high” and “low” categories.
DATE OF REOPENING
Despite the easing of restrictions, many experts say the changes are gradual, and some believe China won’t start opening up again until at least the end of the March session of parliament.
If all medical and communication preparations are completed, Goldman Sachs predicts that “the government is likely to start China’s final exit from over three years of zero-COVID policy” after the parliamentary sessions in March.
Consumer staples stock prices were flat on Monday, but equities in the travel and transportation industries fell as a result of an increase in domestic COVID cases and some speculators taking profits on prior COVID relaxing bets.
On Monday, Beijing reported 407 instances, up from 235 the day before.
In the southern city of Guangzhou, the number of newly discovered locally transmitted cases reached a new high of 4065, up from 3,653 the day before.
Zhengzhou, a significant manufacturing hub in central China, reported 2,981 new infections, up from 2,642 the day before.
The number of cases in Chongqing, a city in the southwest with a population of more than 32 million, increased from 1,820 the day before to 2,297.
