China reported more than 1,000 new local confirmed cases in a single day, the first time in two years, underscoring the challenge of the omicron variant virus to the Chinese government’s “zero policy”.
China’s National Health Commission said on Friday that there were 397 new cases of local symptomatic infections and 703 asymptomatic infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 1,100.
The omicron variant quickly spread in major cities such as Shanghai, and in less than a week, the number of newly diagnosed and asymptomatic infections in a single day surged from more than 300 to more than 1,000.
The Beijing authorities have recently announced that they will adhere to the “zero policy”, but there are signs that mainland health officials and experts are considering the issue of “removing the zero policy” and trying to coexist with the virus.
Nonetheless, as the CCP will hold its “20th National Congress” in the fall, with particular emphasis on political stability, any change in epidemic prevention policy will be slow and unlikely to happen before 2023, the sources said.