Fresh cases of Covid19 break out in China as the country battles Delta Variant
The National Health Commission (NHC) of China last week announced that more than 1.6 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine doses were given to citizens in eligible age groups. This makes China the most-vaccinated country in the world in terms of the number of doses administered. Only made-in-China Covid-19 vaccines are given in the country.
Chinese news outlets, all controlled by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), on Tuesday reported 96 fresh cases of Covid-19. Of these confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, 71 were recorded as local transmission and 25 as overseas cases. Additionally, reports quoted data from the National Health Commission to say that 27 new asymptomatic cases were recorded while 485 asymptomatic patients were under medical observation. This signals that China may not be counting asymptomatic cases of Covid-19 as confirmed ones.
Major cities including Beijing have now tested millions of residents while cordoning off residential compounds and placing close contacts under quarantine. Authorities in the capital met and agreed on the need to “raise vigilance, take strict precautions and defend (the city) to the death, sparing no expense,” in comments put out by the Beijing government.
Elsewhere, over 1.2 million residents were placed under strict lockdown for the next three days in the central city of Zhuzhou in Hunan province Monday, as authorities roll out a citywide testing and vaccination campaign, according to an official statement.
China is an early manufacturer and major supplier of Covid-19 vaccines. It is also one of the few countries that allows vaccination of children. China allowed children aged 3-17 years to be vaccinated in June. Official records indicate that more than 1.6 billion Covid-19 vaccines have been administered. Over 22 crores have been fully vaccinated.
In China, only Chinese vaccines are given. There was concern that Chinese vaccines were not very effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus infections. Several reports from China also state that government scientists say Chinese vaccines are less effective against new variants of SARS-CoV-2.