Hong Kong (CNN) — As the number of people who have died from the coronavirus Exceeding 500,000 worldwide, China does not risk a second wave taking over the country, despite having contained its outbreak in recent months.
In stark contrast to the relaxation of restrictions amid high infection rates in U.S and parts of EuropeNearly 400,000 people have been subjected to strict confinement in Anxin County, in central Hebei Province, near Beijing, after only 18 new cases were registered.
Authorities announced in a statement Sunday that “all villages, communities and buildings will be completely closed” in Anxin. Families can only send one person per household outside to buy supplies once a day, and all outside vehicles are prohibited.
Anxin is located some 150 kilometers south of Beijing, where a small outbreak this month was met with “wartime” measures.
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In mid-June, a group of cases was linked to a fresh produce market in the southwest of the capital. When it became known that the infections had already spread to the nearby Liaoning and Hebei provinces, there was widespread alarm about the potential for a second wave in China.
Authorities quickly imposed confinement on 11 residential complexes near the market, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. Residents were monitored for temperature and informed daily, and food and daily necessities were delivered.
Beijing also launched mass nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus, establishing 193 sampling booths across the city. More than 76,000 people were evaluated within 48 hours after the group was detected.
Speaking to CNN in May, China’s top respiratory expert, Dr. Zhong Nanshan, warned that China still faces the “great challenge” of a possible return of the virus, and authorities should not be accommodating.
“Most … the Chinese at this time are still susceptible to covid-19 infection, due to lack of immunity,” Zhong said. “We are facing a great challenge, I think we are not better than foreign countries at the moment.”
Efforts to contain the outbreak in Beijing appear to have been successful thus far, again demonstrating the effectiveness of confinements, social distancing, and the use of masks combined with widespread testing. On Sunday, only eight new cases were detected in the city, compared to dozens just a week ago.
Nearly 8 million Beijing residents had been screened for the coronavirus, local authorities said Sunday, and the number of daily tests increased from 40,000 to more than 450,000.
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