Influenza has overtaken the coronavirus to become the most prevalent virus in Beijing as the infection rate of influenza across the country continued to rise in the past week. The news sparked discussions on whether Chinese cities will have an influenza outbreak surpassing that of previous years and whether there will be a twin-epidemic of Covid-19 and influenza.
Suspension of classes in schools in cities including Tianjin and Hangzhou were reported due to the prevalence of influenza. The China CDC weekly report on influenza on February 23 showed the positive rate of influenza in the country continued to rise compared to that of last week. The influenza A (H1N1) type accounts for 71% of all influenza samples. “It's not surprising to see the prevalence of influenza this season, as nowadays the relative loose requirements for wearing masks in public places provide a ground for the prevalence of influenza,” Wang Guangfa, Respiratory Expert from Peking University First Hospital, told the Global Times. In the past three years, the prevalence of influenza was low due to the Covid-19 prevention and control measures. Acute infectious diarrhea caused by the Norovirus is also peaking in the period from October to March. There are no vaccines against the virus.
Fifteen school students in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, have tested positive for Covid-19. The cases – 10 at a primary school and five at a secondary school – were all infected for the first time, according to authorities. Over half of the students in the school haven’t caught Covid-19 at all so far, and the vast majority of unaffected students went to school as usual. Despite the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions two months ago, health authorities in Hangzhou and across China are still closely monitoring its development and the emergence of new cases. “In general, schools are advised to suspend in-person attendance for a class once more than 20% to 30% of students in that class are infected with Covid-19,” a staff member from the Xihu District Center for Disease Control and Prevention explained. These infected students are isolated cases, said a Hangzhou official, and it does not signify the start of a new wave of infections.
A number of foreign airlines are working hard to restart flights serving the country as China has lifted the travel ban, leading to a fast recovery of demand. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group, said it will increase the frequency of flights connecting with China starting from March 26. It also plans to have three flights from Amsterdam to Hong Kong, starting six direct flights per week to Beijing and Shanghai on the same day, and increasing service to a daily flight from May. Air France plans to increase the frequency of flights between Paris and Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong to one daily from July. After the reopening of the Chinese mainland, Lufthansa Group further increased its flight frequency. Starting from March, Lufthansa will double the number of its flights to the Chinese mainland from five weekly flights to nine. Airlines in Southeast Asia, which are favored by Chinese tourists, are expanding more rapidly. AirAsia restarted the Guangzhou-Kuala Lumpur route on February 11, and it plans to increase service to eight flights per week from March 2. Emirates will increase flights between Dubai and Shanghai to daily from March, and will restart the Dubai-Beijing route on March 15. Qatar Airways announced that it will resume daily flight services from Doha to Beijing Daxing International Airport from March 26, while increasing services between Doha and Guangzhou to daily flights.
China-UK direct flights, which were interrupted during the Covid-19 epidemic, are set to resume soon. According to British Airways, the route between London Heathrow Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport will resume operations on April 23, with seven flights per week, and British Airways will resume flights from London Heathrow to Beijing Daxing International Airport on June 3. The number of scheduled international passenger flights stood at 795 by 98 airlines from home and abroad from February 6 to 12, covering 58 countries and regions, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said. The number of flights was up 65% over the January 2 to 8 period, the week before China changed its Covid-19 management.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Shanghai Daily, Global Times and South China Morning Post.
