China has revealed that it is experiencing the strongest surge in Covid-19 cases since the outbreak began in Wuhan in late 2019 / early 2020.
The most recent cases are linked to the city of Nanjing, which has recorded over 200 cases. All of these cases are thought to be of the Delta variant, which is now the predominant strain in most of the world. 13 other Chinese cities are said to also be affected.
The Delta variant spreads far more easily than previous Covid strains and can be spread by those who have been vaccinated. The US CDC has said that the Delta variant is as contagious as super-contagious diseases such as measles and chickenpox. The current vaccines are also less effective against the Delta variant though they do provide significant protection against hospitalisation and death.
In response to the outbreak, China has imposed strict lockdowns and banned travel between regions. Millions of people will also be subjected to mass Covid-19 testing.
The Covid-19 pandemic began in 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan. However, Chinese authorities quickly stamped down on the virus reducing the numbers infected significantly and they have so far avoided the mass-deaths seen elsewhere in the world due to their strict anti-Covid policies.
China still has a relatively small proportion of its population vaccinated, and the SinoPharm vaccine that is being used in China is widely regarded as being much less effective than the vaccines being used in the West.
Australia is also experiencing a large uptick in infections, again being a country that largely avoided the pandemic in the past 18 months. Strict lockdowns have again been imposed in Australia where few have also been vaccinated. This has resulted in anger against the Australian government for their slow vaccine rollout.
Australia says it will end lockdowns once at least 80% of the population is vaccinated.
Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar are also recording record-cases and the outbreak in China of the Delta variant is thought to be potentially related to Chinese individuals returning from these countries.
Over 4 million people worldwide have officially died of Covid-19 over the past 18 months, though this number is thought to be a strong underestimate.
[h/t: Daily Mail]
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