Containment of Baise and its 3.5 million inhabitants

Beijing continues on a radical path to counter the spread of the coronavirus. The city of Baise, which has a population of 3.5 million in southern China, was placed under quarantine after the appearance of cases of Covid-19.

Since Sunday evening, residents can no longer leave the locality and those who live in so-called risk areas (where cases have been discovered) are prohibited from leaving their homes, the town hall announced. The city reported 44 confirmed cases of Covid-19 of local origin on Sunday. A number of “imported” cases have also been announced. A screening of residents was organized in the process, said the authorities.

A zero Covid-19 strategy

China has been pursuing a zero Covid-19 strategy since the start of the epidemic, which consists of doing everything to limit the occurrence of new cases, generally only a few dozen per day. If these figures may seem derisory compared to those recorded daily in other parts of the world, they push the power to be extra vigilant when the city of Beijing organizes the Winter Olympics until February 20. All foreign participants are confined to a sanitary bubble sealed off from the rest of the Chinese capital. However, the locality of Baise is located some 2,500 km from the nearest Olympic venues.

In total, China reported 79 cases of Covid-19 on its territory on Monday, including 34 imported cases. Separately, more than 300 positive cases have been counted in the Olympic bubble since January 23, forcing those concerned to place themselves in isolation.