Omicron Covid-19 Boom Gains Steam In China

China’s COVID-19 crisis is on the rise. The country’s COVID policy has resulted in lockdowns at key locations and factory closures. This is starting to impact the economy.

As scientists assess whether an additional boost is needed to combat future waves, all COVID-19 measures are continuing to fall in the US.

China’s Financial Industry Is Affecte by Its Lockdown Measures

China reported 2,125 locally acquired infected cases today, according to the National Health Commission. This includes 788 cases that are symptomatic and 1,337 cases that are symptomatic.

The country’s cases began to rise towards the end of February and are now at their highest level in 2 years.

Jilin is a northeastern province that accounts for half of Omicron Covid-19 daily cases. It is one of the most visited areas in the country. According to Xinhua China, Changchun and Jilin City have been place under travel restrictions by provincial officials. They are conducting mass testing and building more field hospitals.

Another hot spot is Shenzhen, which is a major industrial and technology hub in Guangdong’s south. Bloomberg News reports that officials have ordered mass testing. Officials placed 17.5 million residents of the city under lockdown for one week. They also announced that a series of mass tests would conduct. Foxconn’s production of components for Apple iPhones will be affecte by the measures.

China has given only a booster dose of vaccine to 60.5%, despite having fully vaccinate 90.3%. Kang stated that China should prioritize boosters for those over 60 to prevent large numbers of deaths.

CNBC reports that a continuing epidemic in Shanghai has forced schools to close and prompted mass testing. It advised people against fleeing the area.

According to Reuters Hong Kong continues to see an increase in cases with 26,908 people currently dying. The city officials stated that they do not plan to impose new restrictions as there aren’t any other options. Over the past few days, there have been 300 deaths per day in Hong Kong. This is an alarming number compared to other countries. Experts believe this could be due to a low level of vaccinations for older adults.

Many restrictions the Chinese government had place over the past month in order to prevent the spread of the virus have been lifting. It has removed travel restrictions between and within areas and ended mass lockdowns throughout entire cities. SARS-CoV-2 infecte people can now isolate at home and not in central facilities. Chongqing allows those infected with mild or no symptoms to return to work. Last week, the National Health Commission announced that testing will be voluntary and will not report the number of people infected with no symptoms.

Yohan News reported that South Korea had more than 300,000. The most active areas were Seoul and the Georgi Province. Incheon was the western port city. Health officials announced that children between 5 and 11 years old can begin receiving vaccinations on March 31 to prevent serious diseases and deaths.

Half of the daily cases are find in Jilin, a northeastern province. It is the country’s most popular area. The provincial officials have placed travel restrictions on Changchun City and Jilin City, according to Xinhua China. They are currently conducting mass testing and building additional field hospitals.

Markers Continue a Steady Decline

According to the Washington Post, the USA average 7-day death rate is 35,418, with 1,323 deaths each day. Over the past week, the number of cases fell by 19%. Hospitalizations declined by 22%, and deaths dropped by 14%.

The US has other developments:

• Yesterday, ex-President Barack Obama announced that he tested positive for COVID-19. He had been fully vaccinated and boost, and he has mild symptoms such as a sore throat and scratchy feeling.
• Yesterday Albert Bourla, CEO at Pfizer, state that he believes that a fourth dose is need and that that data will be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. He stated that he hoped Pfizer would be able to submit data to FDA by April about vaccine trial results for children below 5.
• According to Reuters, the Biden Administration stated that it wanted a federal COVID-19 tracking system that began early in the pandemic. This would allow for the monitoring of other respiratory viruses and their effects on hospital resources.