bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Phoebe Zhang

Authorities in Guangzhou said they faced a “dire and complicated” outbreak as the number of Covid-19 cases rose sharply in the southern Chinese city.
Authorities have reported more than 100 infections in each of the past four days and nearly 500 in total during the outbreak.
On Tuesday, the city announced it had 190 confirmed local cases and 289 asymptomatic infections, a slight decrease from the day before.
Meanwhile, the country as a whole reported a total of 498 local cases and 2,221 asymptomatic infections on Tuesday.


New infections were reported every day in Guangzhou in October, but mostly in the single or low double digits. Then, on October 17, the daily total jumped to more than 50 and continued to rise sharply over the following weekend.
On Monday, the Guangzhou health authorities said the reason for the sharp increase was that people in the restricted areas were still moving around without taking appropriate precautions.
“This round of local outbreak has been spreading into Guangzhou through airports, seaports, railways, freight buses and passenger cars,” said Zhang Yi, deputy director of the Guangzhou Health Commission.
“Furthermore, those who tested positive worked in various jobs, and they had complicated routes that included urban villages, internet bars, hospitals, schools and large supermarkets.”
Zero-Covid policy closes gates at Shanghai Disney for second time this year
The outbreak was also fuelled by the Omicron Ba. 5.2 variant, which first appeared in China this past summer. Guangzhou authorities had previously warned it had a stronger ability to spread due to a shorter incubation period, sometimes as short as 24 hours.
Over the weekend, new cases were concentrated around clothing factories in villages on the outskirts of the city in Haizhu district. The area is densely populated and many buildings have older sanitation systems and air vents.
The district government had since suspended factory activity and sales at industrial parks and markets in the area.
Guangzhou authorities implemented mass testing in its four central commercial districts, and announced that schools in those areas must switch to online learning. People who wished to travel were required to provide negative test results from the previous 48 hours.
Even after the end of Communist Party congress, which saw President Xi Jinping secure an unprecedented third term, the central government gave no indication it would ease its stringent zero-Covid policy, despite concerns the rules are hurting the economy and exhausting the population.
US Republicans vow to start new probe into Covid origin if they win House
In central China’s Zhengzhou, authorities had to relax government outbreak prevention measures after hundreds of Foxconn factory workers fled the area on foot over the past few days.
The workers, who assemble iPhones, complained of inadequate protection measures and chaotic pandemic management.
On Tuesday, the city announced that restrictions would be lifted and production gradually restored. The announcement came after Wang Kai, the province’s governor, said on Monday that cities need to be reinvigorated and that residential areas should not be locked down entirely if just a few infections were reported.


Wang also called for steady economic development and social stability while preventing spread of the outbreak.
The Zhengzhou Health Commission quickly followed up with a post of on WeChat on Monday evening that declared that “coronavirus isn’t frightening, it’s preventable and curable”. The statement detailed preventive measures that people could take to protect themselves from the virus, as well as the disease’s symptoms and treatment.
Outbreaks have flared up in several areas of China, including the western region of Xinjiang, the southern province of Yunnan and Inner Mongolia in the north.


Trump-Xi diplomacy put to test thanks to tit-for-tat Covid lawsuits

Wuhan mayor best known for defending city’s slow response to Covid faces corruption probe

US vaccine sceptics are now in charge. That’s bad news for the world

Covid cases reaching a peak in China and will start falling next month: leading expert

Coronavirus China

Coronavirus: Chinese authorities race to contain new waves of ‘dire and complicated’ outbreaks

Authorities in Guangzhou have reported more than 100 infections over the past four days, as outbreaks emerge around China, followed by snap lockdowns and mass testing. Photo: Weibo

China’s factory activity shrinks in October as coronavirus curbs hit output, demand

China’s Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 49.2 in October from 48.1 in September, data released on Tuesday showed. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus: iPhone factory exodus shows how China’s Covid narrative still strikes fear in public

People with suitcases and bags are seen leaving from a Foxconn compound in Zhengzhou in central China on Saturday. Photo: Hangpai Xingyang via AP

News

China

Politics


Covid flare-ups in Guangzhou have authorities ramping up restrictions, mass testing to contain infections
New variants are spreading faster, forcing parts of the country to endure chaotic Covid curbs



Covid flare-ups in Guangzhou and other regions have authorities scrambling to impose new restrictions to contain infections.


Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic: All stories