On Thursday, China's economic hub Shanghai announced roughly 27,000 coronavirus infections, establishing a new high a day after President Xi Jinping stated the government must maintain its strong "dynamic pandemic clearance" program and other virus prevention systems.
Shanghai is dealing with China's largest COVID-19 surge since the virus first erupted in Wuhan in late 2019. The city and its 25 million citizens are essentially under lockdown, although restrictions were partially loosened in certain places this week.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a handbook on residence quarantining on its online pages on Wednesday, raising expectations for policy reform.
However, when pressed in an online comments portion by a netizen regarding the eligible demography for home quarantine, the CDC responded with the old criteria.
Even patients who have no signs of infection must be quarantined, under the country's strict protocols, at consolidated centers, where many have complained about the facilities' poor conditioning.
During a briefing on Thursday, Shanghai officials likewise did not indicate a shift in strategy.
Shanghai recorded a historic 2,573 symptomatic cases for the previous day on Thursday, whereas asymptomatic infections increased to 25,146, up from 25,141.
According to a local official, cases kept rising despite the quarantine and lockdown due to congestion of testing results and persistent transfer among family members.
On Wednesday, Xi stated that China must maintain its tough COVID-19 containment strategy as long as the COVID-19 pandemic's severity continues, assuring people who have been subjected to lockdowns that perseverance would be rewarded in the end.
In a visit to the southern Chinese island of Hainan, Xi hinted that there would be no imminent change in pandemic regulations, stating that the government must adhere to its policy, which has effectively closed China's borders to overseas travel, and not loosen preventative efforts.
China's zero-COVID-19 policy has been constantly strained by the quick Omicron strain, which has placed millions of citizens under different types of lockdown and disrupted supply networks, while other nations have lifted regulations despite the virus' prolonged growth.
Authorities in the Jilin's covid-affected northeast province said on Thursday that they have ceased the localized transmission of COVID-19 after trying to reduce cases since mid-March.
The southern industrial capital of Shenzhen looked to be on the rise after containing its epidemic last month. Authorities recorded 21 new cases yesterday, involving 8 with symptoms and 13 without, the highest amount since March 21.
