Updated: September 15, 2020 8:55:20 pm
An elderly couple in face masks walk in a public park in Beijing
China, the source of the new coronavirus disease that subsequently spread to more than 200 countries, has gone two days without reporting a single infection, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker: The tracker reported 196,017 new cases worldwide on September 14. , China has reported Covid-19 cases in just three days in September so far, and all of them have been imported infections involving travelers from abroad, the country’s health authority said.
For 30 consecutive days, China has reported no cases of local transmission, and Beijing is allowing people to break free of masks and further relaxes pandemic restrictions. Furthermore, she has also not witnessed any Covid-related deaths for the thirteenth day in a row.
China’s current tally is 90,219 cases, including 4,735 deaths. Worldwide, more than 29.27 million people have been infected and 926,716 have died.
The downward trend in Covid-19 cases has been observed since mid-July, when Beijing reported zero new infections for the first time since a cluster appeared in the Chinese capital in June that had sparked fears of a second wave. A total of 335 people have been infected since a group emerged in the city’s huge Xinfadi wholesale market in early June.
An analysis of the JHU data shows that China has added only 4,973 cases between July 15 and September 14. In the same period, it has only seen 91 deaths.
A man and a boy wearing face masks ride a bicycle on a Beijing street. Beijing authorities in late August removed the requirement that people wear masks outdoors (AP)
Beijing health authorities allow residents not to wear masks
After the city reported 13 consecutive days with no new cases, Beijing authorities lifted the requirement that people wear masks outdoors a second time in late August. The Beijing Municipal Centers for Disease Control first issued such a directive in late April, even though the rules were quickly revoked in June after the outbreak in the Xinfadi wholesale market.
In August, images of a heavily crowded pool party at an amusement park in Wuhan went viral, drawing criticism globally, even as media reports said they reflected the city’s success in its efforts. virus control.
Students wearing face masks to help slow the spread of coronavirus formation to enter an elementary school in Beijing, Students in the capital city returned to school in a staggered start to the new school year (AP)
How China Contained Covid-19
AFP reported that the key to success in controlling the disease in the world’s most populous country (the third largest country by geographic area) has been the strict application of local rules, including the use of masks, mandatory home quarantine and participation in massive tests. Travel in and out of the country remains strictly controlled.
A recent research article published in the journal Science, written by Benjamin Cowling and other researchers at the University of Hong Kong, said that China was able to contain Covid-19 due to its ability to manage the serial interval. The series interval is the duration between the onset of symptoms in a primary case and the onset of symptoms in its secondary cases (contacts).
In the article titled “The SARS-CoV-2 series interval shortened over time by non-pharmaceutical interventions,” the researchers found that the series interval in Wuhan was reduced from 7.8 days to 2.6 days between early January and early February.
This, the researchers suggest, was made possible by aggressive contact tracing, quarantine and isolation, ensuring that infected patients, because they were isolated, could not infect more people later in the infection cycle.
Chinese President Xi Jinping walks past a military guard during an event honoring some of those involved in China’s fight against COVID-19 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing (AP)
Chinese leaders celebrate ‘success’ in containing Covid-19
Touting China’s response to containing the pandemic as a coronavirus success story, China’s leaders held a triumphal ceremony earlier this month, without any of the participants, including President Xi Jinping, wearing masks. In a nearly 70-minute speech, Jinping said China had passed “an extraordinary and historic test.” “We quickly achieved initial success in the people’s war against the coronavirus. We are leading the world in economic recovery and in the fight against Covid-19, ”he said.
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