Some 248 million people in China, the 18% of the populationhave tested positive for COVID-19 in the first three weeks of Decembercoinciding with the relaxation of some of the restrictions. Shanghaifor its part, has already recommended to its citizens that do not leave your houses this Christmas weekend “if not necessary” in the face of the rapid spread of the virus.
“Don’t go out on weekends if you don’t have to, hit the pause button for your social gatherings and be the first person responsible for your own health!” the Shanghai Health Promotion Bureau asked in a message that was made echoed the local news portal The Paper. The institution will especially for young people because “they usually go out at night on weekends”, and asks them not to go to closed places with poor ventilation or to crowded areas, since winter temperatures “facilitate the spread of infectious diseases”.
While Shanghai tries to educate young people about the seriousness of the situation, the deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, sun yanginsists to the whole country that the infections will continue to rise. Only on Tuesday there was 37 million people probably infected in China, according to the minutes of a meeting this Wednesday of the National Health Commission. Although official statistics only speak of 62,000 infections throughout the country in the three weeks of December.
More than half of the 81 million inhabitants from Sichuan province (southwest) and the same proportion of 21 million people in Beijing have contracted the disease, Sun explains. These estimates take place when almost three years of confinement, quarantine and massive testing have passed in China, whose government has sometimes been inflexible in its prevention policies. It has recently softened some of its measures under the argument that the cases of the new omicron variant they are less serious. However, this certain laxity would also be motivated by the discontent shown by the population towards these restrictions.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
