Shanghai authorities are ramping up COVID-19 testing for its people in the region amid an unusual rise of asymptomatic coronavirus infections as the city's lockdown continues to be imposed.
Some have argued that the unusually high number of asymptomatic cases in the city as compared to the rest of China is partly due to the blurred lines between "mildly symptomatic" and asymptomatic cases.
Shanghai Ramps Up COVID-19 Testing
Officials may be mistakenly classifying mildly symptomatic cases, with a different counting method compared to the rest of the country, with comments made by a local health adviser adding to skepticism. The city's authorities previously imposed a lockdown to counter the sudden surge of infections attributed to the worst outbreak in the region since late 2019 in Wuhan.
There were more than 20,000 new cases recorded in Shanghai on Apr. 7 with asymptomatic cases accounting for 97%, which is far higher than the rest of the world, which averages to roughly 50%. The head of the Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a written reply that Shanghai's rapid surveillance testing was contributing to the big asymptomatic numbers because it catches infections much earlier, as per Yahoo News.
Apr. 8 marked the third consecutive day that Shanghai authorities were testing the population of roughly 26 million. The restrictions include tightened curbs in other Chinese cities, including other regions that have had no infections.
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Beijing officials have also intervened in the city after Shanghai authorities failed to isolate the coronavirus infection when they chose to lock it down in stages. They insist that the country sticks to its zero-tolerance policy to prevent the medical system from breaking down completely.
According to Reuters, authorities from across China, who have mostly had success in keeping COVID-19 at bay for the last two years, are ramping up efforts to control the spread of the infection. The measures include movement restrictions, mass testing, and new quarantine centers across the nation.
China's Zero-Tolerance Policy
During a visit to Shanghai last week, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan declared that the country would continue its "dynamic zero-COVID" strategy without hesitation or wavering. The measures have separated coronavirus-positive kids under quarantine with their parents.
On Wednesday, an individual wearing a hazmat suit reportedly intentionally killed a corgi found in the street due to fears that the animal could spread the virus to other people. This is because the dog's owner was taken into quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The country's leaders have opted to shift away from iconoclastic policy implementation and have instead ordered local governments to "pull out all stops to control the spread of the virus in the shortest time."
Chinese President Xi Jinping allegedly instructed the new directive that favors heavy-handed pandemic control measures. The decision marks a new chapter in the country's draconian COVID-19 policy that began when the health crisis that took over the nation was brought under control in Wuhan.
At the time, the city relied on mass testing and aggressive contact tracing to buy time for mass vaccination of its residents. This gave authorities enough time and leeway to prevent too many cases that could become uncontrollable even with a vaccine, CNN reported.
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