China announces the registration of `zero` local infections with the Corona virus for the first time since July

Weather of Arabia - Yesterday, Monday, China announced that no new local infection with the Corona virus (Covid-19) was recorded for the first time since July, according to the National Health Committee (NHC), as the authorities doubled down on their strict approach in the country towards the virus.

Earlier, China had been combating the spread of the highly contagious "delta" mutant since July 20, when a cluster of infections was discovered among airport cleaning staff in the eastern city of Nanjing.

Since then, infections have escalated to China's worst outbreak since 2020, with the virus spreading to residents of more than half of the country's 31 provinces and infecting more than 1,200 people. This has been the biggest challenge yet to China's strict zero-tolerance policy.

Local authorities responded with a strict lockdown imposed on tens of millions of residents, launching large-scale campaigns for testing and tracing, and restricting domestic travel.

The strict measures seem to be paying off. Daily infections have steadily declined over the past week, and on Monday, the country reported 21 cases from abroad and no local infections were recorded, the first time that no local cases were recorded since July 16.

It also reported 16 asymptomatic cases, all of which are among people coming from outside the country, as China keeps a separate count of asymptomatic cases and asymptomatic cases, and does not include "asymptomatic virus carriers" in the official count of confirmed cases.

If this trend continues, China could become the first country in the world to control a large delta outbreak in several regions.

Strict measures in other countries in pursuit of recording “zero” infection with the Corona virus

China was one of a number of countries, including Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, that have sought to completely eradicate the Coronavirus (Covid-19) within their borders.

Authorities in these countries have closed borders to almost all foreigners, imposed strict quarantines on arrivals, and launched targeted closures and strict testing and tracing policies to crack down on any cases of overstepping. For more than a year, these measures have been largely successful in keeping cases close to zero.

But new outbreaks driven by the delta variable are causing some countries to rethink their approach.

In Australia, several major cities, including Sydney, Melbourne and the capital Canberra, have been closed for weeks, but cases have continued to rise. On Saturday, the country recorded the highest number of cases in a single day since the pandemic began, while thousands of people took to the streets to protest the prolonged closures.

Singapore has also drawn up a roadmap for transitioning to a "new normal" for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, China appears resolutely committed to bringing the number of infections almost to zero, with state broadcaster CCTV warning on Monday that the epidemic is not over, and that people should not ignore epidemic prevention.

The state also continued to intensify its vaccination campaign. As of Sunday, it has administered more than 1.94 billion doses of domestically manufactured Covid-19 vaccines, according to the NHC. More than 135 doses were given per 100 people, a proportion higher than those in the United Kingdom and the United States.