China’s Latest COVID Outbreak ‘Much Worse’ Than March 2020

China’s Latest COVID Outbreak ‘Much Worse’ Than March 2020.

China is reported to be battling the worst outbreak of COVID-19 since March 2020, with at least one province posting a record daily rise in cases, as an independent panel reviewing the global pandemic said China could have acted more forcefully to curb the initial outbreak. The main worry is the emergence of the new variants as they are able to spread much faster, at least 70%, according to recent studies, said one scientist involved in the study.

The Global Times, a State-backed tabloid, said on Tuesday it defended China’s early handling of COVID-19, saying no country had any experience in dealing with the completely new virus. “Looking back, no country could perform perfectly in facing a novel virus…no country can guarantee they won’t make mistakes if a similar epidemic occurs again,” it said.

China reported more than 100 new COVID-19 cases for a seventh day on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Mainland China had posted 118 new cases on Jan. 18, up from 109 a day earlier, the national health authority said in a statement.

Of those, 106 were local infections, with 43 reported in Jilin, a new daily record for the northeastern province, and 35 in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, the National Health Commission said. The Chinese capital itself reported one new case, while Heilongjiang in the north reported 27 new infections.

The current outbreak in Jilin was apparently caused by an infected salesman travelling to and from the neighbouring province of Heilongjiang, the site of a previous cluster of infections.