BEIJING:Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week.
As temperatures drop, large-scale measures are being enacted in the cities of Tianjin, Shanghai and Manzhouli, despite the low number of new cases compared to the United States and other countries that are seeing new waves of infections.
Many experts and government officials have warned that the chance of the virus spreading will be greater during the cold weather. Recent flareups have shown that there is still a risk of the virus returning, despite being largely controlled within China.
On Monday, the National Health Commission reported two new locally transmitted cases in Shanghai over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to seven since Friday. China has recorded 86,442 total cases and 4,634 deaths since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
The two latest cases confirmed in Shanghai were close contacts of another airport worker who was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier in November. On Sunday night, the city's Pudong International airport decided to test its workers, collecting 17,719 samples through the early hours of Monday morning. Plans call for testing others in surrounding communities if further cases are detected.
Videos on social media purportedly from workers showed what appeared to be chaotic scenes at the airport as they were given last-minute orders to get tested. In the videos, people are seen standing in large groups pushing back and forth against officials in hazmat suits.
Shanghai has been more selective with mass testing, targeting people associated with a particular place, such as the airport or the hospital where a confirmed individual had worked, rather than an entire district.
In Tianjin, health workers have collected more than 2.2 million samples for testing from residents in the Binhai new district, after five locally transmitted cases were discovered there last week.
In Manzhouli, a city of more than 200,000 people, local health authorities are testing all residents after two cases were reported on Saturday. They also shut down all schools and public venues and banned public gatherings such as banquets.
China has resorted to its heavy, top-down approach each time new cases of local transmission are found — shutting down schools and hospitals, locking down residential communities and entire neighborhoods, and testing millions.
Tianjin authorities shut down a kindergarten and moved all the teachers, family and students to a centralized quarantine space. They also sealed the residential compound where the five cases were found.
China's approach to controlling the pandemic has been criticized for being draconian. It locked down the city of Wuhan, where cases were first reported, for more than two months to contain the virus, with the local government shutting down all traffic and confining residents to their homes. Domestically, however, China has called its strategy “clear to zero” and has boasted of its success.
“In the entire world, only China has the ability to get to zero. Other countries don’t have this ability," Zeng Guang, the chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a webinar hosted by Chinese media in September. "It’s not just getting to zero, even for them to control the first wave of the epidemic is hard.”
“‘Clearing to zero’ is actually the most economically effective way to do epidemic prevention. If you don’t do that, then this problem will get more troublesome,” he said. "Use a heavier hand, and get to zero, then people will feel reassured.”
AP Newsroom
Mon Nov 23 2020
People wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus wait at an intersection near the Xinfadi wholesale food market district in Beijing. - AP
AWANI Ringkas: Polis sahkan Chegu Bard direman dua hari
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI 7:45 [28/04/2024] – Malaysia tumpu pelaburan baharu | Pertumbuhan saksama dan inklusif | Kajian pertubuhan buruh antarabangsa | Tabung Haji teruskan bantuan
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas #AWANI745 bersama Dzulfitri Yusof
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- Malaysia hadapi cabaran baharu dari negara maju, bidang teknologi, tegas PM
- Ekonomi dunia kian tidak seimbang, Tengku Zafrul di pentas forum desak negara maju lebih adil dan saksama
- 70 peratus pekerja dunia terdedah kepada penyakit akibat perubahan iklim
- Tabung Haji tanggung kos lebih RM350 juta tahun ini
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- Malaysia hadapi cabaran baharu dari negara maju, bidang teknologi, tegas PM
- Ekonomi dunia kian tidak seimbang, Tengku Zafrul di pentas forum desak negara maju lebih adil dan saksama
- 70 peratus pekerja dunia terdedah kepada penyakit akibat perubahan iklim
- Tabung Haji tanggung kos lebih RM350 juta tahun ini
Liek Hou rangkul dua lagi emas di Sepanyol
Jaguh badminton para negara Cheah Liek Hou terus cemerlang apabila menggondol dua pingat emas pada Kejohanan Badminton Para Sepanyol Antarabangsa II 2024 pada Sabtu.
Negara maju harus tundukkan 'ego' dan bekerjasama dengan ASEAN - Penganalisis
Menurut Faisal, ini kerana negara membangun di ASEAN sedang mencorak ekonomi ke arah lebih mampan yang perlu dimanfaatkan negara maju
Rakyat Malaysia di Jordan jadi duta produk PMKS negara - Ewon
Datuk Ewon Benedick menyarankan rakyat Malaysia yang menetap di Jordan supaya memainkan peranan sebagai "duta" untuk mempromosikan produk PMKS dan koperasi negara.
Fokus Minggu Depan: Solidariti Gaza Merentasi Bangsa dan Agama
Break The Siege: Fokus Minggu Depan membincangkan topik Solidariti Gaza Merentasi Bangsa dan Agama susulan penangguhan misi penghantaran bantuan ke Gaza anjuran Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC).
Lelaki rugi lebih RM13,000 terperdaya tawaran kerja dalam talian
Seorang lelaki berputih mata apabila wangnya berjumlah RM13,460 lesap setelah menjadi mangsa penipuan tawaran kerja.
Misi ditangguh, delegasi Malaysia berlepas pulang
Delegasi Malaysia dalam misi Break The Siege Freedom Flotilla To Gaza akan berlepas pulang malam ini.
Keputusan dicapai selepas Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) tidak dapat meneruskan misi selepas Republik Guinea-Bissau menarik balik kebenaran menggunakan bendera untuk dua kapal yang digunakan.
Laporan lanjut bersama Syaff Shukri di Istanbul.
Keputusan dicapai selepas Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) tidak dapat meneruskan misi selepas Republik Guinea-Bissau menarik balik kebenaran menggunakan bendera untuk dua kapal yang digunakan.
Laporan lanjut bersama Syaff Shukri di Istanbul.
Ustaz Wan sanggup bina tempat main boling DIY di sekolah kampung
Ustaz Wan mempunyai minat yang sangat tinggi terhadap sukan boling dan berhasrat untuk turut mengasah bakat anak muridnya.
Karnival Malaysia di New Delhi tarik 2,000 pengunjung
Pengunjung diraikan dengan persembahan kebudayaan, makanan, demonstrasi masakan, mencanting batik dan peluang merasai buah-buahan tropika Malaysia.
Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di setiap daerah
Kerajaan Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di kesemua 11 daerah di negeri ini bagi menggalakkan kemasukan lebih banyak pelaburan asing khususnya dari China.
Amerika Syarikat mungkin haramkan firma dron China, DJI
Amerika Syarikat kini turut sedang pertimbangkan DJI sebagai ancaman sekuriti, dan mungkin melakukan perundangan untuk mengharamkan DJI.
Kru Shenzhou-18 berjaya masuk stesen angkasa Tiangong
Kru Shenzhou-18 China berjaya memasuki stesen angkasa Tiangong selepas kapal angkasa yang dinaiki mereka bercantum dengan kombinasi stesen angkasa secara automatik pada 5.04 pagi Jumaat.
MAQIS tahan dua ekor anjing dari China, identiti mengelirukan
Pemeriksaan mendapati nombor mikrocip yang diimbas pada badan anjing tidak sepadan dengan nombor mikrocip yang diikrar dalam permit import.
Malaysia muncul destinasi utama pengembangan perniagaan di ASEAN - Kajian UOB
Malaysia telah muncul sebagai negara paling penting dalam ASEAN untuk diceburi perniagaan, seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh Kajian Tinjauan Perniagaan UOB 2024 (PKS & Perusahaan Besar).
Industri hiburan penghubung antara Malaysia dan China - Shila Amzah
Shila Amzah percaya bahawa industri hiburan mempunyai pengaruh yang besar dan memainkan peranan penting dalam memupuk hubungan diplomatik Malaysia-China.
TPM mahu lebih ramai anak muda Sabah diberi pendidikan TVET
Beliau ditawarkan oleh China untuk menghantar 2,000 pelajar Malaysia bagi mengikuti program TVET dengan biasiswa penuh ke negara itu.
Perang dicetuskan blok Barat untuk terus kekal berkuasa - Penganalisis
Kemunculan kuasa-kuasa besar baharu seperti China yang mempunyai kekuatan ekonomi sangat tidak dijangka oleh Barat.
Harga minyak diunjur naik akibat konflik Iran-Israel
Harga minyak mentah Brent diunjur melonjak sehingga AS$95 setong berbanding sekitar AS$90 setong ketika ini berdasarkan jangkaan senario terburuk daripada konflik Iran-Israel.
Piala Uber: Tiada istilah mengalah buat Mei Xing
Pemain itu bagaimanapun mengakui sedikit terbeban dengan ketiadaan pasangan utama negara Pearly Tan-M Thinaah dalam kejohanan berkenaan.