China: 293 new infections and no deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours

LAST UPDATE: 09:20

The Chinese Ministry of Health announced today that in the past 24 hours in mainland China, 293 cases of SARS-CoV-2 were confirmed, involving 82 asymptomatic patients and 211 asymptomatic carriers of the virus, while at the same time no deaths due to COVID were recorded. 19.

In particular, in Shanghai, the Chinese metropolis that was recently faced with a terrible outbreak of infections, in the past 24 hours 122 infections were confirmed, involving 29 patients with symptoms and 93 asymptomatic carriers of the virus.

Officially, the death toll from the disease in China, where the pandemic began about two years ago, stands at 5,226 dead out of a total of 224,015 infections with symptoms of the infection. The report is generally considered undervalued by most experts.

Shanghai announces new measures to return to normalcy

Shanghai authorities today announced new measures to return to normalcy and lift the two-month lockdown on Covid-19 scheduled for this week, with Beijing restoring some public transport routes and reopening some shopping malls. , gyms and other places as the number of cases stabilizes.

China’s 25 million-strong financial center plans to end a lockdown that has hit the economy hard since Wednesday, causing many metropolitan residents to lose their income, struggle to find food and suffer from psychological problems. from prolonged isolation.

The difficult restrictions on coronavirus imposed in major Chinese cities run counter to trends in the rest of the world, where policies have largely been adopted to keep the virus alive as cases spread.

Shanghai, China’s most populous city, will loosen measures for diagnostic tests on those who want to enter public places from Wednesday, said Yin Xin, a spokeswoman for local authorities, adding that the changes would encourage a return to work.

“The current epidemiological situation in the city continues to stabilize and improve,” Yin said, adding that the Shanghai strategy “is now geared towards normalized prevention and control.”

Those entering public spaces or using public transportation will need to have a negative PCR test of the last 72 hours, compared to the 48-hour test that is valid until now. According to officials, by tomorrow, Monday, the bus routes between the Pudong New District, where Shanghai’s largest airport is located, and the metropolitan’s main financial center will be fully restored.

The Plaza 66 Mall in downtown Shanghai, which houses Louis Vuitton stores and other luxury goods chains, reopened today.

Authorities are slow to ease the restrictions, with the emphasis on resuming manufacturing. More and more residents are allowed to move out of the house and more businesses to reopen, although many residents remain confined to the complexes in which they live and most stores can only serve customers through distribution services.

In the capital Beijing, libraries, museums, theaters and gyms were allowed to open today, with restrictions on the number of guests, in areas where no new COVID cases have been reported in the community for seven consecutive days.

Restrictions on telework will be lifted in Fangshan and Sungi districts, and public transportation will be largely restored in the two districts, as well as in Chaoyang, the largest in the Chinese capital. However, the ban on seated customers in restaurants will continue throughout the city.