China to persist with "zero-Covid" policy despite growing backlash
Nov 06, 2022
Beijing [China], November 6 : Chinese health authorities have said the country will continue to follow the flagship "zero-Covid" policy despite growing backlash over stringent coronavirus measures.
"China will continue to maintain its dynamic zero-COVID strategy as the country still faces the dual risks of imported cases and domestic community transmission," said China's National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng, during the Saturday press conference held in Beijing.
These remarks came in response to the problem of excessive and one-size-fits-all epidemic prevention and control measures in some parts of the country amid the recent flare-up of COVID cases, state media outlet Global Times reported.
A day after Feng's statement that China will stick to strict coronavirus curbs, China has reported its highest number of new COVID cases.
Chinese Health Commission said the country recorded 4,420 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Saturday. This is the most since May 6, according to media reports.
This recent surge comes amid the growing unease over the zero-Covid policy.
Notably, Henan province's Zhengzhou city recently came into the spotlight when a COVID outbreak at an iPhone factory led to the exodus of many workers.
Videos shared on Chinese social media showed people jumping a fence outside the plant, owned by manufacturer Foxconn, in the central city of Zhengzhou.
It was previously reported that a number of workers had been placed under quarantine because of an outbreak of the disease.
The city of about 10 million people was partially locked down as a result, as China continues to use strict lockdown measures to deal with Covid - the zero-Covid policy.
Under China's strict zero-Covid policy, cities are given powers to act swiftly to quell any outbreaks of the virus. This includes anything from full-scale lockdowns to regular testing and travel restrictions.
Many had hoped President Xi would drop the strict measures before the end of the year but at the recent 20th Communist Party congress, he made clear this was unlikely to happen anytime soon.
