BEIJING: Mainland China reported one death from COVID-19 on January 1st taking the death toll to 5,250, the Chinses Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said. As infections are on a rise, hospitals in several Chinese provinces, including Shanxi, Hebei, Hunan, and Jiangsu are working overtime, without New Year holidays. Media reports stated all employees of Third Municipal Hospital of Qinhuangdao were directed to cancel their holidays to fully meet the needs of the patients
In order to manage the recent outbreak driven by the sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Chinese authority has formulated a work plan to monitor the mutations of the novel virus.
Residents of key cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity on Monday, confident of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections.
Meanwhile, Australia joined the bandwagon by imposing travel restrictions for arrival from China. Earlier, Canada, Morocco, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, South Korea, Malaysia, Italy, the United States, Japan, and India announced restrictions for travelers. The CDC announced that the US mandates a negative RT-PCR report for passengers from Hong Kong and Macau apart from China. Korea plans to halt the increase in flights to China Following S.Korea Government Guidelines to contain the spread.
At the New Year’s address on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country is in a new phase of Covid control and has adapted after following a science-based and targeted approach.