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Coronavirus: China tries to contain Delta outbreak as ‘zero tolerance’ approach is tested
- Transmission rate remains relatively low with another 62 local cases reported on Thursday, but outbreak has now reached 17 provinces
- Lockdowns and restrictions on travel have been imposed in some areas and mass testing has been ordered in a number of cities
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China reported another 62 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Thursday as the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to spread and tens of millions of people are tested across the country.
While the transmission rate remains relatively low, authorities are scrambling to contain the latest wave of cases – the worst surge in months that has now reached 17 provinces. More than 500 people have tested positive since the first infections were reported at an airport in Nanjing last month.
Lockdowns and restrictions on travel have been imposed in some areas and mass testing has been ordered in a number of cities as authorities press ahead with a “zero tolerance” approach to containing the virus.
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That strategy was reinforced on Wednesday when Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan called on officials at a meeting in Beijing to make it their top priority to stop the spread of the Delta variant.
Authorities are also continuing the push for mass vaccination of the 1.4 billion population. More than 1.7 billion vaccine doses had been administered as of Wednesday, according to the National Health Commission.
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Of the new infections on Thursday, 40 were reported in the eastern province of Jiangsu, where Nanjing and another hotspot, Yangzhou, are located.
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