China ends 2021 with the biggest COVID cases a week since Reuters overcame the original epidemic

BEIJING (Reuters) – China ended the last week of 2021 with the highest number of local COVID-19 cases in seven days since the country’s first epidemic nearly two years ago.

The National Health Commission reported 175 new community-acquired infections as of Dec. 31, bringing the number of local symptomatic cases in mainland China to 1,151 in the last week, driven mainly by an outbreak at the Northwest Industry and Technology Center. Xianen.

China has maintained some of the toughest COVID-19 measures in the world, although cases have dropped significantly since the beginning of the year.

The deepening outbreak in Xian, a city of 13 million, is likely to bolster the authorities’ decision to step up efforts to curb virus transmission. The city has reported 1,451 local cases since Dec. 9, the highest number in any city in China in 2021.

Xian has been under blockade for 10 days since Saturday.

Saving big appearances in 2022 is important for Beijing to host the Winter Olympics and the Communist Party Congress every five years, where President Xi Jinping is likely to run for a third term as party secretary.

The emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which is pushing back or suspending plans to reopen many nations, will also encourage Beijing to continue its vigilance against the virus. China has reported a few cases of imported Omicron and at least one case transmitted locally.

Since August, China has been aiming to control any outbreaks within about two weeks, much shorter than four weeks in the fight against sporadic outbreaks following the initial epidemic, according to the National Health Commission.

Yunnan Province, which shares an international border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, reported new local symptomatic cases 92 times in 365 years last year, or 25% of the time, more frequently than any other province, autonomous region or municipality.

Shaanxi Province, the capital of Xian, reported new local symptomatic cases within 30 days.

(Graph: Mainland China reported new local COVID cases with symptoms in 2021, https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CHINA/lgvdwjwblpo/chart.png)

XIAN BLOCK

The Xian outbreak has yet to see a significant drop in cases. Officials said the virus had spread quietly before imposing strict restrictions on the city.

The outbreak, which also affected cases in other cities including Beijing, may have been on a flight from Pakistan, but it is unclear how it spread to local communities.

Many people have been banned from leaving residential compounds, but a city government official said Friday that the fences would be released into less risky compounds when the time is right.

Li Jiaxin, a 23-year-old graduate student, said no one could leave her university campus. She spent New Year’s Eve with her three roommates and was unable to reunite with her boyfriend and family.

“I’m going to be the one who would take you as a person with a lot of ritual sense, so I still feel a little sad because we’re not together at the moment,” she said.

(Chart: China’s main COVID-19 outbreaks in 2021, https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CHINA/zdvxoqowepx/chart.png)