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Covid-19 in China: Shanghai wasn’t prepared for Omicron, Zhong Nanshan says
- City did not grasp the nature of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant, he says
- Living with the virus not an option for China but ‘restrictions will gradually ease as part of zero-Covid’
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One of China’s top respiratory specialists has taken aim at Shanghai’s efforts to stamp out Covid-19, saying the city was not prepared for a widespread outbreak.
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The 25 million people in China’s financial hub have been under a de facto lockdown for more than a week to try to contain the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began.
“The measures for prevention and control [of the outbreak] in Shanghai were not sufficient and there was insufficient understanding of the transmission characteristics of the Omicron variant,” Zhong Nanshan was quoted as telling a webinar organised by Tianjin’s Nankai University on Friday.
“In general, Omicron infections are highly transmissible, have relatively mild symptoms and a relatively low mortality rate compared to the Delta variant,” Tianjin’s Meiri News newspaper quoted Zhong as saying.
“[We] must block the transmission at the beginning of the outbreak.”
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Locked-down Shanghai hosts a balcony concert to boost morale
Locked-down Shanghai hosts a balcony concert to boost morale
In a new daily high, Shanghai reported 22,609 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases and 1,015 symptomatic cases on Saturday.
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