COVID-19: Beijing's Coronavirus cases rise

[kobayashiGT]

Just now, inlinesix said:

Only 1 carrier, China Southern.

No flight on that day. Next available flight is Apr 5.

RMB65k.

China wanna invade taiwan ah? wanna join the putin party ah?

[inlinesix]

46 minutes ago, kobayashiGT said:

China wanna invade taiwan ah? wanna join the putin party ah?

From Sg, only a few airlines are allowed.

For SQ, only Shanghai and ChongQing.  Previously, there was Shenzhen.

[Thaiyotakamli]

On 2/25/2022 at 12:35 PM, Tohto said:

Share by friend, flight ticket to China with limited flight now. 

Yes alot china to sg flight now become expensive

[Jamesc]

China will end its Zero Covid policy

after the Olympics.

[inlinesix]

Just now, Jamesc said:

China will end its Zero Covid policy

after the Olympics.

Dynamic Zero Covid Policy.

 

[Ender]

Their mRNA didn't do too well. Low neutralizing anti bodies in their participants. With zero covid policy and still seeing omicron outbreaks in Shanghaim Qingdao, Shenzhen, they should just import pfizef or moderna.. 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/COVID-vaccines/China-s-quest-for-mRNA-vaccine-hits-stumbling-block-in-omicron

 

[Ender]

Not just Shanghai, there are quite a few outbreak across other cities too.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/chinas-daily-covid-19-infections-top-1000-for-the-first-time-in-two-years

China shuts schools in Shanghai as Covid-19 cases cross 1,000

 

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - China has suspended in-person classes for all students up to middle school in the financial hub of Shanghai from Saturday (March 12), as the highly infectious Omicron variant drives a Covid-19 outbreak at a scale only seen at the peak of the start of the pandemic in Wuhan.

The country reported 1,100 domestic infections on Friday, data from the National Health Commission showed. The tally has ballooned from just over 300 cases a day in less than a week, presenting a significant challenge to China’s ongoing, zero-tolerance approach to the virus.

Local authorities also locked down the Changchun city in the northeastern part of the country.

The Covid-19 Zero strategy that helped keep China largely virus-free for much of the pandemic now appears to be buckling as Omicron repeatedly breaks through one of the the world’s most stringent remaining containment regimes.

Covid-19’s spread in the nation’s biggest cities, including financial hub Shanghai, also makes it difficult to deploy the aggressive but disruptive restrictions officials are increasingly turning to, chief among them lockdowns. 

Despite the swelling outbreak, China is seeing more people infected without obvious symptoms than those who are sickened by the virus – likely resulting from Omicron’s diminished virulence and China’s mass vaccination drive that has seen nearly 90 per cent of its 1.4 billion people fully inoculated with locally-developed shots and more than one-third boosted. Of Friday’s cases, 703 were asymptomatic.

An outbreak in the northeastern province of Jilin – which borders Russia and North Korea – has seen authorities move quickly to build three makeshift hospitals with a capacity for some 1,200 beds. The provincial capital Changchun, a city of 9 million people, was put into a lockdown on Friday, with residents asked to stay home while the city conducts three rounds of mass testing.

China famously erected a number of temporary hospitals in Wuhan in 2020, some built in as little as 10 days and then used to treat moderate and severe patients. China’s policy is still to isolate all cases of Covid-19, regardless of severity, to contain further spread. 

That approach will be maintained, according to a person familiar with the country’s plans, and places that are experiencing strong outbreaks should consider building temporary hospitals, especially to isolate cases with no symptoms. That would leave actual hospitals designated to deal with Covid-19 free for the more severe cases.

The eastern port city of Qingdao is also building multiple makeshift hospitals amid Omicron’s explosive spread in a number of schools. Local officials and school heads there have received disciplinary warnings for failing to tame the outbreak.

Meanwhile in Shanghai, which is confronting its worst outbreak of the pandemic, authorities are testing students from kindergarten to college and have moved all students up to middle school to online teaching starting this weekend.

Officials in the metropolis have largely refrained from deploying the sweeping curbs commonly used in smaller cities, such as lockdowns, but the growing outbreak may test the limit of this more targeted response.

Not in Community

Most of the newly reported infections in Shanghai are among people who have already been isolated, a person familiar with China’s response said, for being a close contact of a case, for example. 

Just two of the 75 Covid-19 cases reported in the city on Friday were in the community, which may explain why authorities have not intensified their response or deployed city-wide testing as yet. Bigger cities with sophisticated contact-tracing capacity will not necessarily deploy mass testing as long as the outbreak is considered to be limited and under control, the person said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday that the world should be working more closely together to create the conditions for a return to normal post-pandemic. In a press conference marking the end of the annual National People’s Congress in Beijing, he said officials will work to make China’s response more scientific and targeted and to maintain the normal functioning of everyday life and supply chains. 

Repeated mass testing of workers in the northeast city of Tianjin in January saw Toyota Motor Corp halt production there for about 10 days, contributing to a 15 per cent drop in output for the Japanese car giant that month.

Mass testing is a key tool in the Covid-19 Zero arsenal as it helps root out infections quickly and among asymptomatic people. 

Stocks tied to the prospect of China reopening, including airlines, travel companies and restaurants fell on Friday. Air China Ltd dropped as much as 4.2 per cent, Trip.com Group Ltd slumped 13 per cent and hot-pot chain Haidilao International Holding Ltd shed 10 per cent.

Shares related to virus testing surged. Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory Co surged 20 per cent and Hangzhou Biotest Biotech Co climbed as much as 14 per cent.

Beijing recently pledged it would be sticking to Covid-19 Zero, even as other parts of the world dismantle pandemic curbs and open up – leaving China isolated.

Still, there are signs the country’s health officials and experts are at least considering how they may exit the approach and live with the virus as endemic. China approved the antiviral pill Paxlovid developed by Pfizer Inc last month, a move seen by many as evidence of that planning. 

That said, any shift will be slow and unlikely to occur before 2023, given the need for stability in a politically important year for President Xi Jinping, people familiar with China’s thinking have told Bloomberg News. 

[Playtime]

On 2/25/2022 at 12:35 PM, Tohto said:

Share by friend, flight ticket to China with limited flight now. 

Stewardess can take home ah?

[Ender]

 

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3170187/chinas-zero-covid-policy-tested-shanghais-worst-outbreak-traced

China’s zero-Covid policy tested as Shanghai’s worst outbreak traced to quarantine hotel

• Shanghai, once a model city in China’s Covid-19 fightback, is tackling its biggest outbreak of the pandemic
• Quarantine or isolation offer no guarantee of remaining Covid-free, notes Hong Kong-based virologist

 

Shanghai’s fresh Covid-19 outbreak was caused by management oversight at a quarantine hotel, according to local authorities, exposing the challenges for China’s zero-Covid policy as it battles the coronavirus for a third year.

“The virus came from an imported case polluting the environment, which led to domestic infections and spread due to regulatory oversight,” a short notice from the Shanghai government said on Friday.

It further identified the area of oversight as the Huating Hotel, a designated quarantine centre for travellers from outside the mainland.

The eastern metropolis of Shanghai, a bustling financial hub, was seen as a model city in China’s Covid-19 fightback, with its precise contact-tracing and pandemic prevention measures that kept public inconveniences to a minimum.

However, the city of 26 million is now battling its worst outbreak since the coronavirus pandemic emerged in 2020, with more than 300 infections reported this month. Shanghai had logged only 400 cases and seven deaths in the two years before the latest wave.

On Friday, Shanghai reported 11 new local cases and 64 asymptomatic infections, mostly among people already under quarantine. Only symptomatic cases are classified as “confirmed” by Chinese health authorities.

Mass screening and partial lockdowns have been launched in various areas, and all middle and junior schools have switched to online learning.

This comes as the rest of the country also grapples with record high cases, with more than 1,000 locally acquired infections reported on Thursday, the highest national count since 2020. More than 700 of those were asymptomatic.

China has described its efforts to clamp down on the Covid-19 virus as “normalisation of epidemic control”, with officials scrambling to control outbreaks across the country. However, there are difficulties in keeping local cases low while not entirely shutting the door to the outside world.

Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province has faced repeated outbreaks since January, as the pandemic hits new highs in Hong Kong next door. Local authorities have reported cases among quarantine hotel staff, and a rise in imported infections.

Several cities in Guangdong are also offering huge cash rewards for tip-offs on stowaways or illegal entrants from Hong Kong, where the caseload on Friday was close to 29,400.

Professor Jin Dong-Yan, a molecular virologist with the University of Hong Kong, said the tracing of the new Shanghai outbreak to an isolation hotel showed that “quarantine or isolation is not a guarantee” of remaining coronavirus-free.

It was difficult to maintain zero-Covid policies and keep the door open to the outside world at the same time, he said. “It’s very challenging, a dilemma.”

Jin drew comparisons to Hong Kong, once also regarded as a role model in the fight against Covid-19. There were now lessons to be learned, he said, including vaccinating the elderly as a priority.

The mainland might also be forced to change its stance, he said.

“Today they announced that they are going to recognise the rapid antigen test immediately … If they learned the lesson from Hong Kong, that would be a very positive sign. In Hong Kong, the rapid antigen test played a major role [in detecting cases].”

On Friday, the State Council announced that rapid antigen tests would be accepted as a supplement to Covid-19 nucleic acid tests, to “further optimise coronavirus screening strategies” in mainland China. It would be used for speedy diagnosis at community clinics, for people under quarantine or those who need to self-screen.

 

 

[Ender]

 

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3170242/shanghai-shenzhen-chinese-cities-rush-contain-covid-19-wave-new

Shanghai to Shenzhen, Chinese cities rush to contain Covid-19 wave as new cases cross 1,000 for second day

• Surge in local asymptomatic cases sparks rumours of citywide lockdown in Shanghai
• Shenzhen orders selective lockdown for 11 districts, with mass testing and movement restrictions

China’s first-tier cities, from Shanghai in the east to Shenzhen in the south, are racing to tamp down the country’s latest Covid-19 wave, with more than 1,500 new cases reported nationwide on Saturday.

With the surge in case posing new challenges for the health system, the country’s drug regulator has approved five companies to produce rapid antigen test kits, as part of Premier Li Keqiang’s more “scientific and precise” pandemic control promise.

Shanghai, the nation’s commercial and financial hub, is battling a surge in local asymptomatic infections, which accounted for 78 of the 83 new cases reported on Saturday, with the rapid spread sparking rumours of a citywide lockdown.

This came as more than a dozen provinces reported confirmed cases, including Shandong in the east, Guangdong in the south and Jilin – a northeastern province bordering North Korea and Russia – which reported 400 infections, two-thirds of them asymptomatic.

Health authorities have put the spike in asymptomatic cases down to the Omicron variant, seen to be more transmissible but less severe than the original Covid-19 virus, as well as greater immunity from mass vaccination.

The Shanghai outbreak, which emerged earlier this month, has already prompted mass testing and several area lockdowns. The city has reported about 480 cases so far in March, 440 of those asymptomatic.

Indoor activities such as dance studios and several concerts have also been suspended until further notice. Shanghai Disneyland said on Friday that most attractions and shows would operate “at reduced capacity”.

Primary to high school classes have moved online as of Saturday, and kindergartens and preschools shut, after an eight-year-old primary student tested positive.

A total of 29 new cases were reported in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, where 11 districts have been placed under selective lockdown until Tuesday. Residents must undergo daily Covid-19 tests, with movement in or out of housing complexes restricted.

All “exhibitions” in Guangzhou, the Guangdong provincial capital, were suspended after a confirmed patient was found to have visited a convention centre hosting a beauty industry expo. Testing has been arranged for nearly 50,000 other visitors.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong special administrative region next door reported 27,467 infections and 198 deaths on Saturday in an Omicron-driven fifth wave.

In the capital Beijing, which is currently hosting the Winter Paralympics, at least three new cases were detected by Saturday evening, and several neighbourhoods placed under lockdown to cut transmission, local media reported. About 100km (60 miles) away, the northern port city of Tianjin reported 35 new cases.

This is China’s most widespread Covid-19 outbreak since it contained the pandemic two years ago. As many as 1,524 new cases were reported nationwide on Saturday, the second day in a row where the numbers crossed 1,000. Nearly 1,050 of the cases were asymptomatic.

On Friday, Beijing made rapid antigen tests available to the public for the first time, suggesting a subtle change in tack in its “zero-Covid” response as cases surge.

The National Health Commission said the supplementary tool only applied to symptomatic outpatients at community medical centres, people under medical isolation and residents who wished to check their health condition. Those testing positive would have to undergo additional checks for confirmation.

The five companies whose test kits have been approved by the National Medical Products Administration are Nanjing Vazyme Biotech, Beijing Jinwofu Bioengineering Technology, BGI PathoGenesis Pharmaceutical Technology, Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Beijing Savant Biotechnology.

The Shanghai government has blamed “lax management” at a quarantine hotel for the latest outbreak in China’s leading financial hub, once regarded as a Covid-19 role model for its “precise outbreak containment measures”.

Instead of rolling out mass testing and sweeping lockdowns – scenes common in several smaller cities under China’s strict zero-Covid policies – Shanghai would take a more focused approach, classifying people at different risk levels with the help of surveillance cameras and big data.

However, this policy of identifying high-risk residents and placing them under quarantine to cut transmission chains might not prove as efficient with cases ballooning.

A Shanghai resident who had a meal with a close contact of a confirmed patient was told by her residential community on Thursday that she was be sent to a quarantine hotel for seven days, followed by another seven days of strict home isolation. However, she was still waiting for health workers to fetch her on Saturday.

The Shanghai government also rejected widespread rumours of a citywide lockdown on the WeChat social media platform. But panicked residents still resorted to stockpiling necessities – with many vegetables sold out on Freshippo, the grocery retail chain of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Additional reporting by Yaling Jiang

[Tohto]

Friend from Shanghai their 小区 was locked down for 14 days starting yesterday just because 1 càss detect inside.

[inlinesix]

24 minutes ago, Tohto said:

Friend from Shanghai their 小区 was locked down for 14 days starting yesterday just because 1 càss detect inside.

It is an improvement as compared to previous measure.

[yishunite]

China is scared cos if the cases runaway unchecked it will show decisively how much less effective sinovac is compare with pfizer/moderna

[Jamesc]

1,000 and they get all excited

We have 15,000 and 16,000 every day!

[inlinesix]

Shenzhen under 1 week Lockdown from tomorrow onwards 

[Ender]

2 hours ago, inlinesix said:

Shenzhen under 1 week Lockdown from tomorrow onwards 

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/3/188081/China-places-17-million-residents-of-Shenzhen-under-Covid-lockdown

 

 

[Playtime]

19 hours ago, Jamesc said:

1,000 and they get all excited

We have 15,000 and 16,000 every day!

and if we do a population ratio... thats the real number china must eventually face. matter of time now.

[inlinesix]

1 minute ago, mikk123 said:

We have Pfizer, they don't. If they get to 16,000 a day, the death toll is don't know how many times....

Time to admin the Ang Moh Vaccine is better, China one still not so good yet. 

PRC will show you all the side effects of BNT that was not disclosed to public.