Millions of people across China were plunged into lockdown on Sunday as cases of COVID-19 tripled after a surge in infections in the north east. This is the worst Covid outbreak the country has seen in two years, suggesting its zero-Covid policy is a disaster. MailOnline has more.
A total of 1,938 new cases of coronavirus have been reported by authorities in China on Sunday, which is three times the Saturday figures.
Tighter controls have been put in place for those looking to access Shanghai, with services in the eastern port city, of over 24 million people, suspended after cases rose by 15 to 432.
Anyone wanting to enter Shanghai requires a COVID-19 test to enter.
The nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai and lock down central neighbourhoods in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Neighbouring mainland cities Jilin and Changchun, in the north east, contributed to around three quarters of the total, reporting 1,412 total cases.
Entry to Changchun, which neighbours Jilin city and is within the Chinese province of Jilin, has been suspended, with families also told to stay at home.
The infection numbers are low in comparison to various other countries which are co-existing with Covid, such as the U.K., but authorities are enforcing a ‘zero-Covid’ policy which aims to find and quarantine every infected person in China.
Anxiety has mounted over the resilience of the country’s zero tolerance approach in the face of this outbreak.
Another 18 provinces in northeastern cities are battling clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants.
The city of Jilin – which is at centre of the outbreak in the northeast – was partially locked down on Saturday, while residents of Yanji, an urban area of nearly 700,000 bordering North Korea, were confined to their homes Sunday.
China, where the virus was first detected in late 2019, has maintained a strict ‘zero-Covid’ policy enforced by swift lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing when clusters have emerged.
Worth reading in full.
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Brilliant article! Thank you. Very well said.
The Conservative Party’s two main problems are, as you have identified, ‘Blair’s Britain’ and the ‘extended civil service’ of rather dim, self satisfied, self gratifiers, neither of which the Conservatives have ever had the backbone to confront.
Consequently they have frittered away the goodwill of those who gave them a decent majority precisely to take on that egregious, nest feathering, pompous and self serving, fat and sweaty blob of bureaucratic functionaries.
The Reform Party is now the beckoning refuge for that, by now, incandescent vote.
It remains to be seen how big the Reform vote will be, and how diminutive that for the utterly hopeless bunch of incompetent buffoons who make up today’s ‘Blunt & Pincher’ party.
But The Netherlands has shown us the way……
My opinion is that the old chestnut about the Irish farmer being asked for directions, holds good: “If I were you, I wouldn’t be starting from here.” 650 MPs mean 450 gravy-trainers not fit for purpose. Civil Serice, NHS and MOD Procurement: bad jokes that no-one ever found funny. A root and branch clearout of the Augean stables is required, but I don’t see any Hercules figure on the horizon. (Notwithstanding N. Farage’s sterling efforts). Glad to be in the ‘departure lounge of life.’ What a pretty pass!
I very much share your dismay.
‘When he stopped there was a considerable silence.
I then asked: “Where is the strategic reserve?” and, breaking into French, which I used indifferently (in every sense): “Ou est la masse de manoeuvre?”
General Gamelin turned to me and, with a shake of the head and a shrug, said: “Aucune.”
There was another long pause.
Outside in the garden of the Quai d’Orsay clouds of smoke arose from long bonfires, and I saw from the window venerable officials pushing wheel-barrows of archives on to them.
Already therefore the evacuation of Paris was being prepared.’
Churchill
Alanbrooke, Monty and Alexander got the BEF out of the merde and, ultimately, Alanbrooke, backed by Churchill, got the entire country, and (Western) Europe, back to calm waters.
But it got worse after Dunkirk before it got better.
A Stygian darkness is now on the horizon.
It is to be hoped, in the next few years, that the darkest of the night to come presages some kind of new dawn, the warmth of its illuminating rays a long way off yet……
Beggar!
I reciprocate your sentiments Monro, The ‘Stygian darkness’ to which you refer, I sum up prosaically (in the words of Derek and Clive). “—and I turned to the manager, and with all the dignity I could muster, said; “Is this any way to run a fucking ballroom?””
Top
Deep State.
Unified across the G20.
They meet in various confabs including the crap called COP.
Rona messaging was the same across the G20 as were the policies and timings.
Just a cockup…..
“We are Governed by Process…” A major part of it being the first past the post system; the modern “Conservative” Party will be glad that it is.
We are governed by ppl bribed not to represent their constituents. Plus any possibility that someone can’t be paid off there are supra national treaties/bodies that prevent any real change in nation states.
“Shortly before the referendum of 2016, David Cameron and George Osborne drew up plans to purge the entire Right of the party, reconstituting it as a purely centrist force.”
——
And that, I think, is why Cameron’s been brought back now. I think Sunak was ordered by the Party Grandees to make him Foreign Sec, because there’s nothing whatsoever in it for Sunak himself …. with the useless little pipsqueak being continually upstaged by Call Me Dave.
The Party Grandees are anticipating the post-election split and want Cameron in place to lead what remains of the LibCON faction into unity with the LibDEMS. He did it once in 2009, to keep “the Right” under control and now they want to make it permanent.
That will leave any right-wing Conservatives who are left in Parliament with the choice of uniting with Reform or being completely ostracised.
Something else that is rarely mentioned is the control that has been wrested from local constituency selection committees. More and more I hear that some unknown bod (to the local members) has been imposed from on high by the Conservative & Unionist (just to remind ourselves of its history) Central Office (sorry, CCHQ as it pompously calls itself now).
Blair began the destruction of the power of Parliament. The Supreme Court and the Bill of Human Rights, were un-necessary. Parliament has always been the absolute court of hearing, and our Human Rights were enshrined in the common law. Then devolutions, then more power to Brussels, and the gradual shift from parliament to Quango’s which has continued apace ever since.
What does parliament decide? To rubber stamp legislation written by well funded activists, promoted by MP’s who, although there is no memo or meeting, they know what’s good for them, and their kind. No-one will upset the apple-cart while they’re filling their pockets.
Finally, the legislation is passed and passed on to another quango where it can take on a life of its own, driven by political activism, without adequate scrutiny, by unelected officials. The people who take our votes, fail utterly to act in the interests of the citizens. In fact they act against our interests, and they don’t care. They are our superiors, intellectually and morally and they don’t need our permission, or so it seems.
I agree with you, except to make explicit the implied ‘They think they are our superiors’
I have yet to meet, or even see on TV, an ordinary MP who is anywhere near being “intellectually superior”. Nigel Farage is, and that is why they hate him so much. Parliament nowadays reminds me of the entertainment committee of a working mens club, “are the jokes rude enough, and is the beer cheap enough?”, ok booked, next! The unfortunate part is that none of either front bench is anywhere near this low standard either, or at least isn’t prepared to let it show in actions. If they do they are immediately sacked! Oh, wait a moment, that is what happened to Boris, Liz, and hopefully Rishi soon, although I doubt he meets my first sentence either. I predict Cameron will be PM by the end of February, or possibly someone else. Cameron is trying to give away Gibralter at the moment, with no mandate or democratic vote by the BRITISH inhabitants either.
Has the Author ever heard of the World Economic Forum? Does he not have any awareness of their activities and influence on Global politics and politicians?
Aparently not, The plot: says it is all alive and well in Westminster, part of the Gove group, without actually mentioning it (probably for legal reasons)!