China Gripped In Anxieties

<h4>China Gripped In Anxieties<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that there are palapable anxieties in China&comma; world’s second largest economy&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;These anxieties are tied to health related challenges as Beijing&comma; the countries capital&comma; records highest COVID-19 cases since June 2020&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;According to fresh information obtained by OpenLife&comma; Beijing recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases for a year and a half on Sunday&comma; as the Chinese capital gears up to host the Winter Olympics in five days&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;China will hold the Games in a strict &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;closed-loop” bubble as part of its zero-Covid strategy of targeted lockdowns&comma; border restrictions and lengthy quarantines&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The approach has helped the world’s second-largest economy keep the number of new infections far lower than many other countries&comma; but it is battling local outbreaks in several cities as well as in the Olympic bubble&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The upcoming Lunar New Year — China’s biggest national holiday — presents further challenges as millions of people return to their hometowns and mingle with family and friends&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Beijing’s tally of 20 new cases on Sunday was the city’s highest since June 2020&comma; according to the National Health Commission &lpar;NHC&rpar;&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;City authorities have locked down some housing compounds&comma; while officials in Fengtai district — where most of Sunday’s infections were detected — have begun testing around 2 million people for the virus&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Olympics bubble separates everyone involved in the Games from the wider<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;punchng&period;com&sol;"> Chinese<&sol;a> population to curb the risk of infections leaking out&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The estimated 60&comma;000 people inside the bubble are subject to daily testing&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Organisers on Saturday reported 36 cases related to the Games&comma; bringing the total to more than 100 since the bubble was sealed on January 4&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The NHC said Sunday there were 54 new local cases nationwide&comma; as the wealthy eastern city of Hangzhou and the city of Suifenhe in northeastern Heilongjiang province emerged as potential hotspots&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Chinese authorities locked down an area neighbouring Beijing this week following a handful of reported cases&comma; appearing not to publicly announce restrictions that have confined around 1&period;2 million people in Xiong’an New Area to their homes&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Source&colon; AFP<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;