The latest wave of new crown outbreaks in China has been most violent in Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin, with one of the main features being a particularly high number of asymptomatic infections.
According to official Chinese data, there were 118 new confirmed cases nationwide on Jan. 18, 105 of which came from Jilin, Hebei and Heilongjiang, along with 91 new asymptomatic cases.
Last week, there was a case of “one-to-one” superspreaders in Jilin, who also belonged to asymptomatic infections.
According to Taiwan‘s Central News Agency, medical sources pointed out that asymptomatic infected people do not necessarily have fewer respiratory viruses than symptomatic ones, and the strength of transmission depends on the number of viruses and the ability to spread droplets.
The rise in the outbreak has prompted localities to step up epidemic prevention measures. The Beijing government announced on Jan. 19 that four communities in the Daxing district would be closed; at the same time, people entering Beijing’s ports of entry are subject to a 14+7 quarantine policy, with 14 days of intensive observation, plus seven days of home or centralized isolation, and seven days of health testing on top of that.
On the other side of the coin, Chinese officials have stepped up their efforts to set the tone for the new epidemic. In a program aired recently by China’s official media CCTV, Feng Zijian, deputy director of the Chinese CDC, said that for the outbreaks that have occurred in China since last April, the virus has come from outside the country and that the virus within China has been blocked.
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