SupChina Weekly Briefing reports;
“China has seen its biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases in over five months, as new infections continue to rise in Hebei, the province that surrounds Beijing.
Reuters reports that “Hebei accounted for 82 of the 85 new local infections reported on January 10” by the National Health Commission (NHC). Liaoning Province reported two new cases, Beijing one case, and there were 18 imported infections.
The numbers are tiny in comparison with infection counts in the United States, but China’s well-oiled quarantine-and-test machine is going into action, with Hebei Province in “wartime” mode. This week also brings epidemic prevention measures back to Beijing and other cities, as well as official warnings (link in Chinese) to keep Chinese New Year travel to a minimum. As one of our Beijing correspondents observed in a Zoom call this morning, the numbers are so small in China, but people are actually changing their behavior already.”
Interesting to observe how China reacts to new virus cases. This is a health issue. It is also an issue of democratic credibility.
