China is experiencing the worst resurgence of Covid-19 – caused by the delta variant – since the outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019. More than 1,500 confirmed cases have been reported in the country.
Authorities in Nanjing said that around 44% of the confirmed Covid-19 cases in the city can be connected to staff at the Lukou international airport. The spotlight is thereby again focused on Chinese ports and airports that have been at the frontline in battling imported infections. The cases at Nanjing airport involved cleaners and ground crew, while separately one new case was reported linked to the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The first infections at Nanjing Lukou airport originated after staff cleaned the cabin of an Air China flight from Russia on July 10, but the first person tested positive only on July 20.
To contain the spread of Covid-19, Jiangsu province has suspended 45,371 mahjong and poker lounges, as about 64% of the 94 locally transmitted cases reported early last week in Yangzhou involved mahjong enthusiasts, and the rest were their close contacts. Most of the infected were seniors of 60 and above, and they have all been sent to Nanjing, the provincial capital, for treatment, including the “patient zero” who transmitted the virus from Nanjing to Yangzhou. That patient, a 64-year-old woman surnamed Mao, is under investigation for breaching epidemic prevention measures, leaving Nanjing when this was already banned.
In Beijing, Party Secretary Cai Qi instructed the airport to increase the frequency of nucleic acid testing and better regulate disinfection and airport and warehouse cleaning. Strict personal protection measures shall be implemented for foreign aviation ground service personnel, and cross-operation is not allowed. Ticket sales for transport between 23 medium- or high-risk areas where new Covid-19 infections were found and Beijing have been suspended. The areas include the hard-hit cities of Nanjing, Zhengzhou and Zhangjiajie. Some internet and foreign firms based in Beijing have restarted the practice of working from home, while for companies that require working at the office, virus prevention measures have been enhanced. Beijing locked down six residential communities in Haidian district after finding one positive case there. The capital city has reported nine Covid-19 patients since July 28 that are related to the outbreak in Nanjing. Authorities in Beijing will be required to inform the public about major emergencies no later than five hours after they are first known, according to the revised edition of Beijing’s general contingency plan in the event of major emergencies, which was first implemented in 2004. The emergencies include natural disasters, major accidents, public health and social security incidents.
Wuhan, where the Covid-19 pandemic erupted in December 2019, conducted city-wide testing to prevent infections spreading. The city's subway has adopted stricter anti-epidemic rules, and all schools have been closed.
More than 30 officials in four provinces have been punished for their slack response in dealing with latest Covid-19 outbreaks across China, including Hu Wanjin, Vice Mayor of Nanjing, Fu Guirong, Party Secretary of the Zhengzhou Health Commission, district leaders, hospital management staff and officials from the airport and tourism sector.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced that tougher protocols for the suspension of international flights will be introduced. China currently handles about 230 international passenger flights a week, about 2% of the volume handled in 2019. There are about 3,700 international cargo flights every week, 2.5 times more than in 2019. More medical guidance will also be provided to ground service workers, including cabin cleaners, aircraft maintenance workers and porters. Workers who have had direct contact with international passengers and cargo are now required to be kept separate from those who work with domestic passengers and cargo. Airlines are offering a free ticket refund policy for domestic flights between August 4 and 31, and railways have also offered refunds.
As part of a nationwide campaign to stem new outbreaks of Covid-19, many major Chinese ports and airports have strengthened anti-virus measures, including quarantine requirements for workers, which has delayed commodity imports that are crucial to China's manufacturing. The Ministry of Transport issued guidelines for anti-epidemic measures for port and other frontline workers, including frequent testing and other strict preventive measures for those who handle imported goods.
In a written address to the first meeting of a forum on international cooperation on Covid-19 vaccines, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to provide 2 billion doses of vaccines to other countries this year and to donate USD100 million to the COVAX facility. Developing countries are facing three main challenges: the low accessibility to vaccines, the declining efficacy of existing vaccines against mutations, and the competition between different producers on the international market,, Zha Daojiong, Professor of International Political Economy in the School of International Studies and Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University, told the Global Times. To date, 82% of the world's Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered in high-income and upper-middle-income countries, and less than 1% in low-income countries. COVAX is struggling to meet this challenge, having distributed only 153 million doses out of 4.1 billion administered worldwide. Chinese vaccine producers have built production lines in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil, with total production capacity exceeding 200 million doses per year.
Tourism operators remain optimistic about the long-term prospects despite the recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases. In the first six months of the year, the tourism market showed stable recovery, with the number of domestic trips increasing just over 100% year-on-year to more than 1.87 billion, around 61% of those taken in 2019 before the first Covid-19 outbreak. But Tuniu, an online travel agency, said its July bookings in Beijing have fallen by 10% to 20% since the city reported confirmed Covid-19 cases on July 28. A recent report by the World Tourism Alliance shows that the average prosperity index for China’s tourism operations in the second half of the year is -30. While it is negative, it is the highest since the epidemic broke out. The index ranges from -150, very pessimistic, to +150, very optimistic. However, China's tourism sector remains under pressure. In the first half of the year, 1.9 billion domestic trips were made, up 100.8% year-on-year, but only 60.9% of the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Global Times, Shanghai Daily and South China Morning Post.
