A new Covid outbreak has erupted in China, increasing fears about the country’s vulnerability to the extremely contagious Delta form.
Within a 10-day period, more than 300 instances were discovered.
News of the outbreak has dominated Chinese media, and the country’s top respiratory diseases expert has allegedly expressed significant alarm.
The government has implemented new travel restrictions and is putting millions of people to the test.
Although authorities claim that more than 1.6 billion doses have been administered so far, it is unclear how many people in China have been fully vaccinated.
A total of 15 provinces have now confirmed cases. Cases in 12 of the provinces are connected to an outbreak that began in Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province.
Authorities have attributed the spread to the Delta variant and the domestic tourism season.
In Zhuzhou, in central Hunan province, more than a million people have been told not to leave home for three days while mass testing and a vaccination drive is organised.
The regional government described the situation there as “grim and complicated”.
In other cities entire communities are being placed under emergency lockdown as cases of the Delta variant emerge.
The outbreak is the largest in China for months. The country was largely successful in controlling the virus within its borders last year.
