China ends 2021 with worst COVID week since original epidemic was controlled

China ended the last week of 2021 with the highest number of local cases of coronavirus in any seven-day period since it controlled the country’s first epidemic nearly two years ago, despite having some of the world’s strictest measures against COVID-19.

The National Health Commission on Saturday reported 175 new community infections with confirmed clinical symptoms by Dec. 31, bringing the total number of local symptomatic cases in mainland China to 1,151 in the past week.

The rise was mainly driven by an outbreak in the industrial and technological center of Xian, a city of 13 million people in the northwest of the country.

The intensification of the outbreak in Xian is likely to reaffirm the authorities’ decision to quickly halt broadcasts as cases emerge. The city, which had been closed for 10 days as of Saturday, has registered 1,451 local symptomatic cases since Dec. 9, the highest number of any Chinese city in 2021.

Although the number of cases in China is miniscule compared to other parts of the world, it will be important to avoid major outbreaks in 2022. Beijing will host the Winter Olympics in February and the ruling Communist Party will hold a five-year congress – predictably in the autumn – in the one that President Xi Jinping is likely to secure a third term as party secretary.

The emergence of the highly communicable omicron variant will also lead Beijing to keep its vigilance against the virus high. China has reported a handful of imported omicron cases and at least one case of local transmission.

Since August, China has tried to control any outbreak in about two weeks, much less than the four to six weeks of previous battles against sporadic outbreaks that followed the initial epidemic across the country, according to the National Health Commission.

Cities along China’s borders are at higher risk of contracting the virus, either from the presence of ground transportation links or the entry of infected travelers from other countries. Some were affected by outbreaks of the delta variant, which led to harsh travel restrictions last year.

Yunnan, which shares a border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, reported new local symptomatic cases on 92 out of 365 days last year, or 25%, more frequently than any other province, autonomous region or municipality.

The Xian outbreak, which caused cases in other cities, including Beijing, could be traced to a flight from Pakistan, but it was not clear how it spread to local communities.

Many people have been banned from leaving their residential complexes, but a local official said Friday that restrictions will be relaxed at lower-risk complexes when the time comes.

China’s tough policies on epidemics have helped prevent its sprawling industrial sector from being thrown into prolonged shutdowns, reaping significant export gains while other pillars of growth weakened.

However, unpredictable disruptions have affected consumer confidence and hit the restaurant, hospitality and tourism sectors.