Covid-19 makes a comeback in China

After months without contamination, China is now recording new cases of Covid-19 in about 20 cities and 10 provinces.

On 3 August 2021, the country has reported 61 new cases of local origin. Wuhan, where the virus had emerged in late 2019, has seven new cases on 2 August 2021. The current spread is linked to the high contagiousness of the Delta variant, detected in mid-July at Nanjing airport in Jiangsu province.

With more than 400 new infections since July 2021, this epidemic resurgence remains limited compared to the numbers in other countries.

To combat the spread of Covid-19, the Chinese government is implementing strict measures similar to those adopted at the beginning of the pandemic: rapid screening of several millions of people, localized lockdowns and travel restrictions.

According to local authorities, many people who have been infected in recent weeks have been vaccinated. The vaccines produced in China by Sinopharm, Sinovac and Cansino are currently the only ones authorized in the country. As with all vaccines, they are only effective in preventing the development of a severe form of Covid-19 and not in preventing infection.

The Chinese government plans to administer Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, which will be produced in China, in a third dose by the end of 2021.

However, this decision is still pending the approval of health authorities.