▲ The Asian country applies a strict coronavirus containment strategy, which includes PCR tests every 72 or 48 hours. In the image, a test module for covid in Beijing.Photo App
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Newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, August 31, 2022, p. 17
Beijing. Nearly 4 million inhabitants of the province surrounding the capital Beijing were confined yesterday in an attempt by the authorities to stop any advance of covid-19 before a major political meeting of the Chinese Communist Party.
Residents of the cities of Chengde and Xinle in Hebei province are required to stay at home until the end of the week. In addition, more than 13 million inhabitants of the Tianjin municipality, which is to the north and borders Beijing, had to undergo a PCR test yesterday after more than 80 cases were detected in two days.
China is the only one of the world’s major economies that maintains a covid containment strategy with strict lockdowns and quarantines.
The authorities decree localized confinements, impose PCR tests every 72 or 48 hours in some places, and quarantine travelers who move from the province.
This policy has had strong repercussions on the economy and is not expected to be relaxed at the 20th Communist Party Congress, to be held in the next three months.
At this meeting, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, should obtain confirmation for a third term as secretary general of the organization, unless there is a very unlikely turn.
The pandemic has left 602 million 88 thousand 683 confirmed infections and 6 million 490 thousand 271 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.
