The latest Covid-19 outbreak has so far affected 44 cities in 20 provinces, as another 65 domestically transmitted cases were reported on November 8. Nationwide, more than 1,067 cases have been reported since the latest outbreak started on October 17, at least 35 of them in Beijing. Since the outbreak in Wuhan last year, more than 30 local outbreaks were detected in China caused by imported cases.
The two major flashpoints are Ejine Banner in Inner Mongolia and Heihe in Heilongjiang province, both border cities, the first bordering Mongolia and the second bordering Russia. According to Chinese health experts, two different strains from abroad were responsible for the outbreaks. Passenger transport between Heihe in China and Blagoveshchensk in Russia has been suspended for nearly two years, but the river route for freight is still open. As local governments are grappling with these outbreaks, the National Immigration Administration urged border ports to strengthen epidemic prevention and control, such as using contactless methods for dealing with imported goods and intensifying border patrols to crack down on illegal border crossings.
Experts had warned there are two possible transmission chains for the virus from abroad – land border ports with cross-border trade, or places where migrating wild animals can cross the border. The town of Ruili in Yunnan province bordering Myanmar has also become a Covid-19 flashpoint. The small border city of 210,000 people has been placed under lockdown three times this year, and Chinese health experts said strict measures have successfully ensured that Ruili did not spread cases to other provinces. Chinese authorities emphasized they will not abandon the zero-Covid policy, even for cities like Ruili. Myanmar reported around 1,000 Covid-19 cases per day last week. With a border stretching 170 kilometers, Ruili has 10 border crossings, and villages in China and Myanmar are closely connected.
The recent outbreak is more complicated than the recent one in Nanjing, which originated within the airport and spilled over. This time, there are multiple sources, many of which remain unclear even after half a month. Experts are still looking into what caused the outbreak in Ejine Banner, which they believe was caused by imported cases. The origin of the Heihe outbreak in Heilongjiang also remains unknown, and it is not related to the recent flare-ups in Inner Mongolia and Gansu province. The coronavirus can more easily spread in winter and there is also the increasing danger of the mutated Delta variant. Local governments have adopted strict measures to curb the spread. The outbreaks are expected to be contained in a month.
The latest resurgence of Covid-19 in China has shown an apparent tendency of spreading among schools, affecting students and kindergarten children, as at least four places have detected outbreaks related with schools and kindergartens. Experts called for faster vaccination of minors so as to raise students' resistance to the virus as well as monitoring of travel by parents and teachers to prevent potential flare-ups that could lead to larger-scale outbreaks among communities. Beijing's Chaoyang district suspended classes at 18 schools after outbreaks of confirmed cases recently.
Zeng Guang, former Chief Epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, countered Western criticism of China's zero-tolerance policy. He warned that China should not let the foreign media's sniping shake the country's confidence. “We are at a highland [of fighting the coronavirus] that they cannot attain. Those who mock us are from countries where they have reported more than 10,000 cases daily, yet we report less than 100,” he said.
As part of efforts to reduce the risk of imported cases causing a domestic outbreak, many places have tightened control of goods purchased overseas, and are reminding residents not to buy products from epidemic-hit regions. Provincial regions including Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Hunan have released notifications to remind residents to stop purchasing from overseas, and postal and courier companies to stop delivering goods sent from overseas epidemic-hit areas. Consumers who plan to purchase products overseas via purchasing agents are advised to ask suppliers to provide nucleic acid testing results and not to purchase products without them.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Global Times and Shanghai Daily.
