Covid-19 in China

[Randy W]

The Shanghai Disney Resort announced on Tuesday that the park will reopen on June 30 after over three months of being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Weibo)

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3262507964068041

[Randy W]

Inbound travelers will undergo a monkeypox screening along with COVID-19 testing during their quarantine period, the National Health Commission said.

The authority stated the requirement in a guideline on monkeypox prevention issued on Friday, calling on all cities to conduct the monkeypox virus check for inbound travelers, especially those who have a traveling history in a country with reported monkeypox infections within 21 days before entering China.

from China Pictorial on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ChinaPic/posts/pfbid0ArFXijbWY8uAEXLypZMuMeFJAz5iGPCsujen8oaFjdx2HFcfJxhBzW9evDcgqWa5l

 

[Randy W]

Covid-19: new cases on the rise in China as travel rules ease

• Most new patients reported in Anhui province where two counties are in lockdown
• Local authorities try to balance containment with keeping business activity afloat

from the SCMP

After protests in Shanghai, authorities are stressing the need to ensure that essential supplies get through to locked-down residents. Photo: EPA-EFE
 

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The National Health Commission reported 75 new symptomatic local cases on Sunday, up from 38 a day earlier, and 310 new asymptomatic cases, an increase from 145.

China eased pandemic travel restrictions last week, including halving the quarantine period for inbound travellers and removing the “asterisk” system from residents’ “Big Data Itinerary Card”.

The asterisks indicated whether a person had travelled to medium or high-risk areas recently and could be used to justify quarantine.

 . . .

Most of the cases reported on Sunday came from the eastern province of Anhui, which had 61 patients with symptoms and 231 without.

Within the province, Lingbi county went into lockdown on Friday and in Si county completed a sixth round of mass testing on Sunday morning.

Si county health authorities said they would appoint leaders of housing estates and residential blocks to help with health control measures, including ensuring that necessities were delivered to residents and people with special needs were provided for.

 

 

[Randy W]

some other articles from the SCMP, if you're interested (or even if you're not)

Coronavirus: China’s pandemic rule changes a nod to science on Omicron and economy, say experts

• Changes based on Omicron’s shorter incubation period seen to promote a more targeted approach to pandemic control
• It is not a shift from zero-Covid, health officials and public health experts caution

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This came as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced an end to the Covid-19 risk indicator in its digital travel pass, removing a major barrier to domestic travel. The asterisk risk symbol would no longer appear in the travel pass of anyone who had travelled recently to cities with Covid-19 cases, the ministry said.

A day before, the national health authority had halved the quarantine period for inbound overseas travellers and close contacts of Covid-19 positive cases.

 

North Korea blames Covid-19 outbreak on ‘alien things’ near South Korea border

• In an apparent move to shift blame for a wave of infections, state media cited a soldier and a child, 5, who touched unidentified materials before falling ill
• North Korea reported 4,570 more people with fever symptoms on Friday, for a total of 4.74 million – though it did not specify them as coronavirus cases

Workers disinfect the interior of Pyongyang International Airport as part of the country’s anti-coronavirus measures. Photo: KCNA via KNS/AFP

Hong Kong leader John Lee convenes first cabinet meeting to discuss to-do list from Xi Jinping, vows to lobby for ‘limited measures’ to reopen border

• First formal meeting with team comes two days after Xi set out list of four expectations for Lee and his colleagues
• Source says meeting mainly discussed matters such as political principles and governing style

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His first formal meeting with his team, which a source said lasted nearly three hours, came two days after Xi set out a list of four expectations for Lee and his colleagues to improve governance, boost momentum for development, solve people’s livelihood woes and safeguard social harmony and stability.

 

[Randy W]

Tens of millions under lockdown in China following outbreak of Covid BA.5 subvariant

China’s Covid-19 pandemic infection cases continued climbing since a fresh outbreak began in early July 2022, with 24 cases detected nationwide on July 6.

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/1553961185020640/

[Randy W]

Macau closes the Grand Lisboa, the first casino shuttered in the Covid-19 pandemic

Macau has closed its first landmark casino since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/1561658714232042/

[Randy W]

Industrial and commercial businesses in #Macao are asked to suspend operation for a week starting Monday, in an effort to curb the spread of #COVID-19. Essential businesses to residents will not be affected, according to the instruction.

from Shenzhen Pages on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/shenzhenpages/posts/pfbid0Xm9Gw9idF9EPFDnwjfNBMwjzUkczjbxwThGuP4BDHA1U98uS3daQxhQxbBNqJCfUl

 

 

[Randy W]

23 hours ago, Randy W said:

Industrial and commercial businesses in #Macao are asked to suspend operation for a week starting Monday, in an effort to curb the spread of #COVID-19. Essential businesses to residents will not be affected, according to the instruction.

from Shenzhen Pages on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/shenzhenpages/posts/pfbid0Xm9Gw9idF9EPFDnwjfNBMwjzUkczjbxwThGuP4BDHA1U98uS3daQxhQxbBNqJCfUl

 

 

All Macau casinos close in latest Covid-19 outbreak

Macau has closed all of its casinos for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/1294705397731068/

[Randy W]

Over 2,000 tourists are stranded in Beihai City, a coastal resort city of about 400,000 in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, due to a COVID-19 flare-up, the local government said on Sunday. From July 12 to July 17, 68 confirmed cases and 463 asymptomatic infections have been reported in Beihai.

http://ow.ly/9W4E50JXN9x

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3278356712483166

 

[Randy W]

This is why I didn't want to go down for the COVID testing here at our apartment.

Residents of Beihai, a coastal city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, have started arranging pods of likely negative friends to share a test tube to avoid being suspected of COVID-19.

Check out more Daily Tones: http://ow.ly/Vl9750K0Uw6

Edited July 22, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

COVID-19 Vaccine Proof when Leaving China

HeyExpat 2022-07-14 16:16 Posted on 四川

8 Minute Read

• Whether you plan to travel when the borders open or just want a bilingual record of your COVID vaccination, it can be useful to obtain your Vaccination certificate for foreigners. 

• The internationally recognized, bilingual certificate can be used to enter the countries that recognized Chinese vaccines to get quarantine-free or test free entry (unfortunately NOT including China).

• There is an electronic and a printed version.

 

[Randy W]

Lianhua Hill Park, one of the most popular parks in the city, is closed as part of theCOVID prevention and control measures in Shenzhen

https://www.facebook.com/shenzhenpages/videos/1029094407630028/

Edited July 29, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

As the epicenter of the global pandemic, it would seem that Wuhan would be the key to any investigation.

As the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the precise origins of the virus and the role of the Huanan market in kickstarting the outbreak remain hotly contested.

from the NatGeo on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/natgeo/posts/pfbid0339V55wHWR8tGbukAg6AirYbopkohsQUtnhsKC5NeXLML8vT8HCtSKyBnnzUWyWzJl

Debate deepens over Wuhan wet market's role in kickstarting the pandemic
Critics point to bigger issues with poorly regulated wildlife farming—not just the market itself—as the root cause of COVID-19.

PUBLISHED JULY 27, 2022

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The market has been off limits since January 1, 2020, frozen in time behind high blue walls. Peering through the gap in the gate, I see rows of abandoned stalls under a beige plastic arched roof, an empty blue chair, a fish net, a few cooler boxes, and an overflowing rubbish bin. A red sign advertises Wuchang beam, a signature fish species of the Yangtze River, famed for its tender and aromatic belly. Another sign reads “fresh and live.” 

As the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the precise origins of the virus that causes the disease, SARS-CoV-2, and the role of the Huanan market in kickstarting the outbreak remain hotly contested. Most experts agree that COVID-19 emerged because of zoonotic spillover—which happens when a virus jumps from wild animals to humans. But it’s been unclear exactly when and where the virus made that leap. Pinpointing where spillover took place is not just a matter of academic interest. “It has important policy implications” that will help avert risky practices and hopefully prevent the next pandemic, says Roger Frutos, a virologist at the University of Montpellier in France.

This week, after a comprehensive review of the available data, an international team published two studies in the journal Science that together conclude the Huanan market was the epicenter of the pandemic. Their work suggests that two closely related versions of SARS-CoV-2 jumped from an animal to a human during two separate events, most likely within the market.

The studies support previous the suspicion that “the animals in the market were the key element in early transmission,” says Dominic Dwyer, an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney, Australia. He was not involved in either study but was a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) team that visited Wuhan last year to probe the origins of COVID-19. “It’s clear the viruses were circulating in the market and then exploded out of it.” 

But scientists still debate whether it was an infected animal or an infected person that brought the virus to the market in the first place. What’s more, scientists have yet to find an animal infected with a progenitor of SARS-CoV-2, so the conclusion that spillover took place at the market rests entirely on circumstantial evidence. “We shouldn’t base important statements on correlation,” says Virginie Courtier, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Paris, France.

 

 

 

[Randy W]

China's Hainan expands COVID lockdowns to quell outbreak

from Reuters - Aug. 8

Police officers manage vehicles entering and exiting Qionghai, amid lockdown measures to curb the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hainan province, China August 7, 2022. cnsphoto via REUTERS
 

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The province, which recorded just two local symptomatic COVID cases last year, has reported more than 1,500 domestically transmitted infections this month, including over 1,000 symptomatic ones. Although that is low by global standards, it is Hainan's biggest outbreak since the virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

 . . .

The provincial capital city of Haikou, home to about 2.9 million people, and three smaller towns, Wuzhishan, Ledong and Chengmai, locked down residents on Monday, according to state media reports.

At least nine cities and towns, with a combined population of about 7 million, said their residents must not leave where they live except for necessary reasons such as COVID tests, grocery shopping or essential job roles. They also suspended public transport services.

 . . .

About 25,000 tourists were stranded in Sanya, the hardest-hit city in Hainan's outbreak and the tropical island's key tourist hub, as of Sunday. Although cities have said tourists can leave after COVID tests, many were frustrated about the disruption.

 

 

[Randy W]

The #Tibet autonomous region reported 59 new locally confirmed #COVID-19 cases and 443 new asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 on Saturday, health authorities said at a news briefing on Sunday in Lhasa, the region's capital.
As of noon on Sunday, the region has reported a total of 99 confirmed and 848 asymptomatic cases.
Positive cases reported in the Tibet autonomous region have largely increased since Saturday for three reasons, health authorities said.
"Due to a vast land area, a sparsely scattered population, low air pressure and oxygen levels, review took longer than normal, and there was an inadequate capability of nucleic acid sampling and testing," Wang Shoubi, an official from the region's health commission, said at the news conference.
Wang added the third reason is the highly contagious transmissible Omicron variant BA.2.76 has a shorter incubation period and is highly and rapidly transmissible.

from China Pictorial on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/ChinaPic/posts/pfbid02VHsx7KJz68HSd9AuSKpA5rRKX2n3uQHQfAC3Jkh15ne5xHHbRQh66i7qfS4q6cbQl