China quarantines millions of people against Delta variant

China reported today 55 new cases of locally transmitted coronavirus apparently related mainly to the appearance of the fast-spreading Delta variant, It has already reached more than 20 cities and more than a dozen provinces.

Local governments in major cities, including Beijing, the capital, tested millions of residents, while closing off the living quarters and they put quarantine contacts of infected people.

The city of Zhuzhou, in the central province of Hunan, ordered today more than 1.2 million people stay at home under a strict isolation next time three days, while carrying out a campaign of testing and vaccination throughout the city.

China had so far succeeded in reducing local cases to virtually zero.

But the latest outbreak, linked to the focus on Nankeen or nine cleaning workers at an international airport tested positive on July 20, caused more than 360 cases over the past two weeks.

In Zhangjiajie, a tourist town nearby Zhuzhou, there was an outbreak last month among customers at a theater, who then took the virus home across the country. Zhangjiajie confined its 1.5 million inhabitants on Friday.

For its part, the Beijing government has blocked entry for tourists during the summer travel season.

Following the discovery of a few cases among residents who returned from Zhangjiajiem Only “essential travelers” with negative tests will be allowed into Beijing.

Today, new cases have also been reported in Hainan, a popular tourist destination, as well as in the province of Henan, devastated by the floods, said national health authorities.

China has racked up more than 93,000 coronavirus cases and 4,636 deaths since the start of the pandemic, numbers well below other developed countries, and considering that it is the most populous nation, with 1,400 million inhabitants.

Also in Hong Kong the number of infections was very low, with almost 18 months of entry bans for non-residents.

Until the date, measures taken in Hong Kong to combat the spread of the virus have enabled limit the number of Covid-19 cases to around 12,000 and the number of deaths to 200.

No case of local contamination has been recorded for more than 50 days.

Any traveler arriving from abroad should be quarantined in a hotel for up to three weeks.

Today, Executive Director Carrie Lam announced measures to increase the vaccination rate by making compulsory vaccinations for four sectors: government officials, health workers, nursing home staff and teachers.

Hong Kong is one of the few territories in the world to have sufficient doses for its entire population, which remains reluctant to be vaccinated.

Six months after the start of the vaccination campaign, only 36% of the 7.5 million inhabitants received two doses and 48% only one.

The vaccination rate in these areas fluctuates between 70% for civil servants and barely 47% for teachers.

People who do not wish to be vaccinated will have to be tested for the coronavirus at their own expense twice a week, unless there is a medical contraindication, he said.