4th consecutive day of Covid-19 outbreak in China

With 39,791 new cases identified in the past 24 hours in connection with the Covid-19 epidemic in China, the number of daily cases broke the record for the fourth consecutive day.

China is trying to fight the rapidly spreading Covid-19 epidemic. China’s National Health Commission said in a statement that in just the past 24 hours, 39,791 new cases have been identified in mainland China, 36,820 of which were asymptomatic. The total number of symptomatic cases in mainland China also rose to 307,802.

Given the number of cases recorded over the past 24 hours, the record for the number of daily cases was broken for the fourth day in a row. In a country where one person has died due to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the total death toll stands at 5,233.

Beijing continues to grow

The number of cases continues to rise rapidly in the capital, Beijing, which is one of the cities hardest hit by the Covid-19 epidemic. In Beijing, the number of daily cases, which increased by 66 percent from the previous day, stood at 4,307 in the last 24 hours. In southwest China’s Chongqing, with a population of 32 million, the number of cases increased by about 15 percent from the previous day, reaching 8,861. In the southern city of Guangzhou with a population of 19 million, the number of daily cases recorded at 7,419 the day before was reported as 7,412 in the last 24 hours.

China continues to push for ‘zero Covid’

Unlike the rest of the world, China has been fighting the epidemic since early 2020 as part of a “Covid Zero” strategy, using methods such as rapid contact tracing, frequent testing, lengthy quarantines and street disinfection. The stringent measures imposed in connection with the zero Covid strategy have recently led to protests in various cities of the country.

In Guangzhou, one of the megacities in the south of the country, on November 14, people took to the streets and shouted slogans for the lifting of quarantine. There was a scuffle between the protesters and the police and officials in white protective overalls.

Foxconn’s iPhone factory, located in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, was also the focus of workers who escaped quarantine and tried to return to their hometowns in late October. Thousands of Foxconn workers clashed with police in a protest they held after failing to keep their promises.