Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://menafn.com/1102328572/China-scrambles-as-delta-strain-strikes-megacities
China scrambles as delta strain strikes megacities
Date 6/22/2021 3:26:29 PM
(MENAFN - Asia Times) China is calling for tighter seals on its borders as Covid-19 infections rise in its two southern megacities, where holes in their defenses have allowed the highly contagious delta strain to spread since May.
The lives of up to 60 million people in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as surrounding areas, have been upended by the B.1.617.2 strain, also known as delta, which originated in India and the World Health Organization (WHO) warns could soon become the world's dominant strain. The WHO recently described delta as the ''fittest'' of the viral strains.
Guangzhou has logged at least 153 cases of the variant in the month since the first patient surfaced. The woman had not traveled beyond the city limits for 12 months and thus the source of her infection puzzled epidemiologists.
Other than quarantine for close contacts in locked-down communities, persistent citywide mass testing and restrictions on gatherings are in place for Guangzhou residents, who must produce a clean medical slate 48 hours before they venture outside the city.
Even so, there have been reports of travelers from Guangzhou being rounded up and isolated elsewhere in the nation.
The city's modest caseload by international standards does not appear to justify such draconian measures but Guangzhou is now being referred to as China's new Wuhan, the original epicenter of the contagion...
China scrambles as delta strain strikes megacities
Date 6/22/2021 3:26:29 PM
(MENAFN - Asia Times) China is calling for tighter seals on its borders as Covid-19 infections rise in its two southern megacities, where holes in their defenses have allowed the highly contagious delta strain to spread since May.
The lives of up to 60 million people in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as surrounding areas, have been upended by the B.1.617.2 strain, also known as delta, which originated in India and the World Health Organization (WHO) warns could soon become the world's dominant strain. The WHO recently described delta as the ''fittest'' of the viral strains.
Guangzhou has logged at least 153 cases of the variant in the month since the first patient surfaced. The woman had not traveled beyond the city limits for 12 months and thus the source of her infection puzzled epidemiologists.
Other than quarantine for close contacts in locked-down communities, persistent citywide mass testing and restrictions on gatherings are in place for Guangzhou residents, who must produce a clean medical slate 48 hours before they venture outside the city.
Even so, there have been reports of travelers from Guangzhou being rounded up and isolated elsewhere in the nation.
The city's modest caseload by international standards does not appear to justify such draconian measures but Guangzhou is now being referred to as China's new Wuhan, the original epicenter of the contagion...
