According to an article on Reuters, China reported 10 535 new locally transmitted cases on Friday, 10 November 2022, the highest number since 29 April 2022, when the country’s commercial hub, Shanghai, was battling its most serious outbreak.

The nationwide surge, still small by global standards and for a country of 1.4 billion people, has spurred China’s top leadership to reaffirm its zero-tolerance strategy for the virus, a policy that President Xi Jinping says is to save lives, especially among China’s elderly.

The southern city of Guangzhou, the current epicentre of China’s Covid fight, reported 2824 new local cases for 10 November 2022, the fourth day in which infections exceeded 2000.

Driving the infections were cases in the populous district of Haizhu, which on Friday declared a hard lockdown until Sunday after days of widening restrictions and curbs.

"All residents are required to stay at home," the district government said in a statement. "Only one person in each household is allowed to buy daily necessities on a staggered schedule."

All public transit in the district of 1.8 million people is also suspended, and mandatory PCR tests will be administered to "every household and every individual", according to the statement.

China will not relax its Covid measures but will keep improving them according to the changing epidemic situation and mutation of the virus, a government expert was cited as saying by the national health authority on Friday.

Other major cities such as Beijing, Zhengzhou and Chongqing have tightened measures this week as daily cases reached all-time highs.

OFM News