The number of corona infections in China is already higher this year than in the entire previous year. 1337 new cases were registered in the past 24 hours, the Chinese National Health Commission reports. This brings the total number of cases this year to more than 9,000. In all of 2021, 8,378 were reported, according to figures from the Reuters news agency.
Authorities blame the rapidly rising number of cases on the even more contagious version of omikron, the BA.2 subvariant. In China, there is now talk of under-the-radar infections, because this omikron subvariant spreads faster and tests for it work less well. Incidentally, the sub-variant is not new: it is already available in the Netherlands dominant since Februarythe RIVM reports.
The vast majority of new infections were recorded in the northeastern province of Jilin. 895 people contracted the virus there. In the city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, 75 new cases were reported.
The city of about 17.5 million inhabitants went into lockdown yesterday. Public transport has been shut down and the city council has called on residents to work from home. In the coming days, residents will be tested en masse for the virus.
Biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic
In addition, infections have been registered in Qingdao, also on the coast and in the northern Xingtai. The figures are limited to mainland China, Hong Kong is not included. In that city, 32,000 cases have been reported in the past 24 hours.
The number of cases on the mainland has been steadily rising since the beginning of this month. And while the total is still well below the numbers of Europe and the US, it is already the largest outbreak since the start of the Wuhan pandemic in early 2020.
Soon after the first outbreak in Wuhan, China imposed strict lockdown measures. As a result, the number of infections was kept low. A quarantine obligation still applies to anyone who has been in contact with an infected person. That strategy is aimed at stopping the spread of the virus as quickly as possible.
Even now, the authorities say they want to continue the policy of lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine obligations.
Samples in the Netherlands
It has been known for some time that sub-variants of omikron are circulating. In the Netherlands, the RIVM keeps with samples which variants are involved. According to the RIVM, subvariant BA.2 does not seem to lead to more serious symptoms after infection than the original BA.1.
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