First Covid-19 death in China since May
For the first time since May, an 87-year-old man died of Covid-19 in China on Sunday. His condition worsened after a bacterial infection.
China announced on November 11 that it was relaxing its zero-covid health policy, notably easing quarantines.
AFP
China on Sunday reported its first death from Covid-19 since May, an 87-year-old man in Beijing, where a surge in the number of cases is gradually leading to the closure of institutions and businesses. Asia is the last major global economy to operate a strict global economy known as the zero-covid health policy, which aims to do everything to prevent contamination and thus deaths.
It consists of incarceration as soon as cases appear, mandatory isolation of those who test positive, and almost daily PCR tests to identify chains of transmission. The health ministry on Sunday reported more than 24,000 new local positive cases in 24 hours in the country – most asymptomatic.
Fatigue
The major manufacturing province of Guangdong (South), where the cities of Canton and Shenzhen are located, is the worst affected. The capital Beijing, closely watched by authorities and the media, reported 621 new cases. Residents are confined to their homes, while others are isolated in quarantine centers.
But the authorities are on a cliffhanger in the face of a population expressing great fatigue with anti-Covid measures and seem unwilling to impose too strong restrictions at this time. Major shopping malls in Beijing announced they would close on Sunday. Others, however, have reduced opening hours or banned table service at their restaurants. Many restaurants can no longer accommodate customers, but deliveries remain authorized.
The dead man had mild Covid, but his condition worsened after a bacterial infection, state broadcaster CCTV said. It was the first official death since late May. Several office buildings in Chayang district, home to business districts and embassies, asked companies to switch to teleworking on Sunday. Parks, sports halls and gyms are also closed.
Censorship
Authorities on Saturday called for “non-essential” travel between different Beijing districts to avoid the spread of the virus. On the Chinese social network Weibo, as on Twitter, comments under articles related to the epidemic were filtered in Beijing, AFP noted, to avoid the more robust online opposition to the health measures.
Canton (southern) metropolis, which has reported more than 8,000 new positive cases, began public screening in the central district of Haiju (home to about 1.8 million people) on Sunday. China on November 11 announced a relaxation of its zero-covid health policy, including a reduction in quarantine, especially for international arrivals.
However, a return to normality remains a remote prospect as prisons, quarantines and screenings continue to be imposed on a large scale.
AFP
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