Covid-19 cases in China’s most populous city of Shanghai have risen again as millions remain isolated at home under a sweeping lockdown. Drone footage shows the usually bustling city empty of people and traffic. Almost all 26 million residents are under some form of lockdown. Those who test positive are taken to large quarantine centres. Jane Polubotko, a 30-year-old who works for a local music tech company, was taken to the Shanghai New International Expo Center after testing positive. ‘We get food three times a day, the food is OK,’ she…
Tag: Omicron variant
With 37 million in lockdown and Covid plans under fire, Chinese ask: what comes next?
When nearby neighbourhoods went into lockdown, Liu Li started stocking up. The 42-year-old Chinese magazine worker bought vegetables, fruit, medicine and other supplies, adding to stores of basics she had maintained since the pandemic began. Last Sunday a resident in the community where Liu lives with her mother, in Changchun city, Jilin, tested positive. Everyone was ordered inside. The fresh lockdown has, so far, been OK. “I live a normal life,” she says. “I work when there are tasks for me. If there aren’t any, I talk to my mother,…
Has China fallen into a Covid-zero trap?
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Unvaccinated over-60s face monthly fine in Greece; UK reports another 84,429 cases and 85 deaths – as it happened
Greece on Monday imposed a vaccination mandate for people over the age of 60, as coverage remains below the EU average and a recent rise in infections has sustained pressure on hospitals, the Associated Press reports. Older people who fail to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a €50 ($57) fine in January and followed by a monthly fine of €100 ($114) after that. About two-thirds of Greece’s 10.7 million population is fully vaccinated – the EU average is just over 70%. The rate of death and daily hospitalisations…
Chinese city of Tianjin to test 14 million people after Covid outbreak
Tianjin, a major Chinese port city near the capital Beijing, has begun mass-testing its 14 million residents after a cluster of 20 children and adults tested positive for Covid-19, including at least two with the Omicron variant. Those infected include 15 students aged between eight and 13, a staff member at an after-school centre and four parents. The citywide testing, begun on Sunday, is to be completed over two days. The first two cases confirmed in Tianjin were a 10-year-old girl and a 29-year-old woman working at the after-school centre.…
Dozens of Hong Kong officials in Covid quarantine after birthday party
Dozens of senior officials and legislators in Hong Kong have been sent into a 21-day quarantine after they attended a birthday party despite the government’s own pandemic warning. The embarrassing incident came as the city’s new “patriots only” legislature is scheduled to hold its first meeting next week. Concerns had been raised in recent weeks after a number of Omicron cases were identified in Hong Kong. Health officials say they cannot rule out hidden clusters in the community. Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said it was a “deep disappointment”…
Chinese police parade suspected Covid rule-breakers through streets
Armed police in Jingxi, in southern China, have paraded four alleged violators of Covid rules through the streets, state media reported, a practice that was banned but which has resurfaced in the struggle to enforce a zero-Covid policy. The four men were accused of smuggling people across China’s closed borders, and on Tuesday they were led through the streets wearing hazmat suits and bearing placards showing their name and photos. The state-run Guangxi daily reported the action was designed to deter “border-related crimes”. A common practice during the Cultural Revolution,…
Covid news live: infections hit record highs across Europe; South Africa reinstates contact tracing and isolation
Infectious disease epidemiologist and World Health Organization Covid-19 Technical Lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, has cautioned against becoming “numb” to rising case numbers. Do not become numb to these numbers. Each one is a person, a family, a friend, a loved one… Do not become complacent. Even if Omicron is less severe. Many places are seeing record numbers of cases and hospitalisation rates… We can do more. We need to end this pandemic.” Maria Van Kerkhove (@mvankerkhove) Do not become numb to these numbers. Each one is a person, a family,…
China locks down 13 million people in Xi’an after detecting 127 Covid cases
Up to 13 million people have been placed into lockdown in the city of Xi’an in China, as authorities move to clamp down on the community spread of Covid-19 after 127 infections were found in a second round of mass testing. The snap lockdown on Thursday comes little over a month before Beijing is set to host the Winter Olympics. All residents in Xi’an are barred from leaving their houses except to buy living necessities every other day or for emergencies, while travel to and from the city is suspended…