By Shifaan Ryklief 
1h ago
CAPE TOWN – China has reported its highest count in daily Covid-19 infections in more than five months, with various cities ramping up anti-epidemic measures to stop the resurgence.
Mainland China reported a total of 63 new Covid-19 cases, with 32 reported a day earlier.
This has led the capital city of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, to launch a citywide testing programme on Wednesday to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
According to Chinese state television, gatherings are banned and passengers are not allowed to enter its main railway station.
Xingtai City has arranged specialised treatments for all confirmed cases, as well as for friends and family who were in close contact with them .
Beijing stepped up and tested more than 2.6 million residents in key areas as of Wednesday, with Deqing County in Zhejiang setting up special teams in all communities and villages for disease prevention.
Meanwhile, local authorities in Guangdong reported a patient infected with the variant discovered in South Africa, and they urged customs in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen to strengthen their workforce to check key flights and key groups.
Since the start of the outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019, China’s total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases stands at 87,278 cases with 4,634 deaths.
In the midst of a possible resurgence, China is in the process of inoculating 50 million residents ahead of their Lunar New Year celebrations in mid-February, using its home-grown vaccine developed by Sinopharm.
The state-owned pharmaceutical company’s shot, which was approved in December, has a 79.34% efficacy rate, and according to the Chinese officials, will be available for free to the public.
Sinopharm has also ramped up its production line operations in its bid to produce one billion doses of the vaccine before the end of 2021.
ANA