Covid returns to Wuhan: Two cases are reported in the city where the virus first appeared – a few days after President Xi confirmed the pursuit of a Zero Covid policy
- Confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been detected in Wuhan, the city where the virus first appeared
- Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the country’s draconian ‘Zero Covid’ policy
- Mass testing and localized restrictions have become a regular feature of China
The first confirmed cases of Covid-19 were detected in the Chinese city where the virus first emerged when President Xi Jinping re-established his commitment to the country’s draconian ‘Zero Covid’ policy.
It has been reported that some port workers in Wuhan show signs of asymptomatic infection in the first confirmed cases there in a month.
China is now expected to undergo its fourth wave of mass testing to continue isolating areas where cases are being recorded, after Anhui province reported a surge of 107 infections on Friday and Lingbi county was closed.
Overall, the country recorded 163 infections on Thursday, the highest score in the past three weeks.
The news comes days after Xi visited the sprawling city and reset his desire to lock up entire cities and see them subject to strict restrictions to contain the virus.
President Xi Jinping meets on June 28 with members of a residential community in Wuhan, China
China is now expected to undergo its fourth wave of mass testing to continue isolating areas where cases are being recorded, after Anhui province reported a surge of 107 infections on Friday and Lingbi county was closed. In the photo: Mass test in Beijing on June 22
Chinese citizens lined up for Covid-19 testing in Macau, China
President Xi will now launch an updated Zero Covid plan that will see incoming travelers and close contacts’ quarantine periods halved, with mass testing and the use of restrictions expected to increase.
Increased surveillance and earlier, more aggressive restrictions are also expected to be used by the Chinese leader.
Beijing and Shanghai both did not report any new Covid cases yesterday, as Li Qiang, Shanghai’s Party Committee Secretary, praised the city’s two-month closure when he declared victory over the virus.
The Chinese capital has escaped the same draconian restrictions by launching a mass testing regime and requiring proof of negative PCR testing within 72 hours of entering public spaces.
An American scientist who linked the early spread of the virus has traced the first human infection of Covid to a woman who worked at the Huanan Seafood Market.
The woman, known as Wei Guixian, became ill on December 11, 2019 with mysterious flu-like symptoms, since it was confirmed to be Covid.
Dr. Michael Worobey, the evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who published the report, said about half of the first group of cases were linked to the market and Ms. Guixian.
The slaughter market – which traded dozens of exotic animals such as pangolin – was originally touted as the source of Covid due to the high risk of cross-species infection.
An American scientist who linked the early spread of the virus has traced the first human infection of Covid to a woman who worked at the Huanan Seafood Market. In the photo: Workers wearing protective suits walk along Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, March 2020
The slaughter market – which traded dozens of exotic animals such as pangolin – was originally touted as the source of Covid due to the high risk of cross-species infection. Pictured: A man carrying hikes along optical shops on the second floor of the Huanan Seafood Market, December 2020
The World Health Organization disputed this assessment and placed the first confirmed case about 20 miles south of Wuhan.
While the rest of the developed world has freely opened its doors to tourists, trade and the return of normality, China has distinguished itself by adhering to a strict Zero Covid plan.
President Xi declared this week that “herd immunity” is an impossible task for a population as large as China, saying it would have “unimaginable” consequences.
The president’s Communist Party consistently used the country’s low mortality rate as proof of the party’s success and as proof that their policies worked.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, has been heavily criticized for his handling of the pandemic which was considered ‘China-centric’, while praising China for its response to the Covid outbreak.
After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in January 20202, he said: ‘I was very encouraged and impressed by the President’s detailed knowledge of the outbreak and his personal involvement in the outbreak.
“It was a very rare leadership for me.”
But he has since been censored by Chinese state media for criticizing the country’s current zero Covid policy in May this year.