On March 13, 3,393 Covid cases announced. These data, which would delight any Western country, reactivate the draconian policy of zero Covid in China. Several cities in the country are again under strict confinement, only one person per household being authorized to go out once every two days to ensure family supplies: Changchun and its 9 million inhabitants, in the province of Jilin (northeast ), confined since March 11. On March 13, Shenzhen, and its 17 million inhabitants, in the South, followed suit, after the reporting of 66 new cases.
→ LANDMARKS. Two years of Covid-19: the main dates of the pandemic
Penalties fall quickly. The mayor of Jilin, the second largest city in the eponymous province, which totals a thousand cases, has been sacked. As well as the health official of Changchun and several local leaders of Dongguan, in the South, accused of having failed in their policy of prevention of the pandemic, according to state media.
Authorized self-tests
Faced with the resurgence of the epidemic, 4.18 million doses of vaccines were injected on March 13, according to the official Xinhua agency. And the Medical Products Administration has, for the first time, authorized the use of self-diagnostic tests, produced by five companies, to improve the ability to detect infections early due to the speed of spread of Omicron.
Some see it as a possible future change in Chinese policy. Shanghai, the country’s largest city, has so far limited itself to closing schools and businesses, restaurants and shopping malls. On March 12, Premier Li Keqiang said he wanted to take a more scientific and precise approach to dealing with the virus, the media reports. China Daily.