As the entire world is opening up after curbing the spread of the Covid pandemic, China, the place from which the virus originated has started facing the heat again, as a new wave of the pandemic has hit the nation.
Omicron variant behind Covid surge
According to reports, the Asian giant is apparently seeing its worst outbreak of the virus in two years.
In the last 24 hours, China witnessed more than 3,100 fresh locally transmitted coronavirus infections. According to health experts in the country, the sudden surge in Covid cases is driven by the Omicron variant.
Partial and complete lockdown in China
As the Covid pandemic is spreading like wildfire in China, several Chinese provinces have already implemented partial or complete lockdown.
To contain the spread, the Chinese government has now put the high-tech Shenzhen city under lockdown, which has a population of 17 million.
On Saturday, the government had ordered a partial lockdown in Jilin city, while Yanjim was placed under lockdown on Sunday.
Apart from imposing complete lockdowns, the government is also introducing local curbs to schools, restaurants, malls and other public places to control the spread of the virus.
In Shanghai, authorities have temporarily shut down schools, businesses, restaurants and malls.
To detect patients quickly, China has now decided to allow the use of rapid antigen tests to diagnose Covid.
Covid slowing down in India
Meanwhile, the number of Covid cases in India has faced a sharp decline. In the last 24 hours, the country reported just 2,503 fresh cases, and a majority of them came from the southern state of Kerala.
