China: According to a health official, new Covid-19 infections in China will increase in the next few days, and the epidemic’s impacted areas may continue to expand.
The current outbreak in China is caused by an overseas delta variant, according to Wu Liangyou, a National Health Commission official, who spoke at a press conference in Beijing on Sunday.
In the week beginning Oct. 17, the wave of infections extended to 11 provinces, according to Mi Feng, a spokesman for the commission, who spoke at the briefing. According to Mi, the majority of them were sick and traveled across multiple regions. He advised those in pandemic-affected areas to get into “emergency mode.”
According to Zhou Min, a transport ministry official, some cities in the provinces of Gansu — including its capital Lanzhou — and Inner Mongolia have halted bus and taxi services due to the virus.
According to the National Health Commission, China reported 26 new local confirmed Covid-19 infections on Saturday, including seven in Inner Mongolia, six in Gansu, six in Ningxia, four in Beijing, one in Hebei, one in Hunan, and one in Shaanxi. In Hunan and Yunnan, four more local asymptomatic cases were documented.
The development of the delta variant in Asia is hampering governments’ efforts to reopen their economy. Only employees who have been properly vaccinated or who have recovered from Covid-19 in the previous 270 days will be allowed to return to work on Jan. 1. Other virus restrictions were prolonged for another month by the government last week, even though more than 84 percent of the population has been completely vaccinated. Due to the virus, Beijing will cancel a marathon that was set to take place on Oct. 31.