Mainland China has reported multiple new confirmed cases of COVID-19 (Covid-19) in China for five consecutive days. Among them, there have been reports of cross-provincial-related cases in many places.
According to the data reported by the National Health Commission of China, 21 new cases were confirmed nationwide on October 20, including 13 local cases, involving at least 11 provincial and municipal administrative regions.
Mainland China still continues to pursue the “clear zero” epidemic prevention policy with close tracking, and local governments have once again stepped up epidemic prevention tracking and testing under the latest round of transmission.
Involving 11 provincial and municipal administrative regions
Reuters reported that half of the new local cases on Monday and Tuesday (October 18, 19) were close contacts of a confirmed elderly couple. They have recently traveled in Shaanxi, Gansu and Inner Mongolia and other provinces, and the infection was confirmed on Sunday (October 17).
It is currently unknown whether the couple is the source of the new round of new cases, and how they were infected is not yet clear, but the provinces and cities involved in their travel history have all urgently stepped up the tracking of close contacts. Among them, Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province, carried out a nucleic acid test for all employees for the second time in a short period of time.
Among the new cases on October 19 was one in Beijing, which is preparing for the Winter Olympics in February next year.
Chinese official media reported that this round of the epidemic is suspected to be a “tourism group transmission chain”: a tour group departed from Shanghai on October 9 and stopped in Xi’an to travel to Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia and other places. After that, some people returned to Xi’an. He was diagnosed, and the other person was diagnosed after returning to Ningxia from Gansu.
China’s official CCTV reported that multiple people were diagnosed in a restaurant visited by the tour group in Inner Mongolia, and there were overlapping trajectories.
As of Thursday, among the close contacts of the chain, 9 provinces have been reported to have tested positive.
It is also reported that some tourist areas not involved in the provinces have begun to implement measures such as prohibiting people from the provinces with new cases from staying in hotels. It is reported that a hotel in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province even appeared after a guest stayed for one night and had to be banned under the new policy. They re-enter the situation.
Officials have not announced the location of infection of the new cases in recent days, and Reuters pointed out that there are signs of multi-source infections, which complicates the situation of the “clearance” policy.
In Inner Mongolia, 3 confirmed cases have been accused of unknown origin in recent days.
The epidemic will “last one year longer than originally needed”
The new crown epidemic is gradually spreading. As many countries in Europe and the United States begin to gradually relax their quarantine and epidemic prevention restrictions, China is currently one of the few countries that still adhere to the “zero” epidemic prevention policy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that because many poorer countries have not yet obtained the vaccines they need, the global pandemic will “last one year longer than originally needed.”
Bruce Aylward, senior adviser on organizational change to the WHO Director-General, said that this means that the crisis of the new crown epidemic may “easily drag on to the second half of 2022”.
Currently, only 5% of the population in Africa has been vaccinated against the new crown, while most other countries have reached 40%.
The UK has delivered more than 10 million doses of vaccine to countries in need-it had previously promised to deliver a total of 100 million doses.