China has been hit with a new outbreak of the coronavirus, this time the delta variant, which has spread to 11 Chinese provinces in just one week. Sputnik reports that some Chinese epidemiologists see the current outbreak as “the worst since the 2020 outbreak in Wuhan.” They report that “if anti-epidemic measures are effectively implemented and loopholes are closed, the latest outbreaks can be brought under control within one month.”
Most of the 133 infections reported over the past week were related to tourist groups. How the new strain entered China is not yet known. As of today, at least five provinces, including Beijing, halted cross-provincial tourism-related activities after the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a new announcement on Oct. 23 requiring travel agencies in the infected areas, in a circuit-breaker measure, to do so, in compliance with China’s zero-tolerance policy.
