China hit by worst Covid outbreak since Wuhan
China has been hit by its ‘most extensive outbreak of Covid since Wuhan’ after cases of the Delta variant slipped through its strict border controls.
The country has reported over 200 new infections since July 20, with the epicentre in the city of Nanjing.
The outbreak has been linked to cleaners who worked on a flight from Russia that arrived in the city on July 10.
Health officials said the workers did not follow hygiene measures and may have contracted the virus because they removed their protective gear, and then mingled with each other and airport staff.
Ding Jie, from the Centre for Disease and Prevention Control, told reporters: ‘After their work was complete, due to cleaning and protective measures not meeting standards, it’s possible some staffers got infected, causing the virus to spread among cleaning staff.’
A senior disciplinary body of the Communist Party has publicly rebuked the airport management company for ‘problems such as lack of supervision and unprofessional management’.
The head of the company has been suspended amid criticism over the failure to contain the outbreak.
Cases have spread to five provinces and Beijing, with state media calling it the most extensive contagion after Wuhan, where coronavirus first appeared.
All flights from Nanjing airport have been suspended until at least August 11 while the 9.3 million people living in the city have been ordered to take PCR tests.
The Jiangsu province, where Nanjing is located, is under strict lockdown, and anyone seeking to leave the city must produce a negative test result less than 48 hours old.
Stay-at-home orders have also been issued for residents of the Changping district located in the suburbs of northwest Beijing.
Local officials in Nanjing said that seven of those infected were in critical condition.
The new spike in cases has led some to speculate about whether the Chinese vaccines were working against the Delta variant.
It is unclear if those infected were vaccinated.
Following the initial outbreak in Wuhan last year, China has largely managed to keep the virus under control by closing borders and moving quickly to stamp out local clusters.
Experts quoted by The Global Times said they believed the outbreak was still at an early stage and could be controlled.
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