Dharamshala, 22nd April: Despite the fact that Tibet has only recorded one case during the pandemic, reports are coming out that authorities in the region are constructing enormous Covid isolation and care facilities in anticipation of more breakouts in China. According to the Guardian, The Chinese firm Jiangsu Qi’an Construction Group is building temporary hospitals with at least 1,000 beds each in Lhasa and Shigatse, as part of China’s Covid response. The report said that the company was given “less than half a month” to complete the facilities after being charged with their construction in late March. To complete the project, more than 400 people are working in three shifts.
The development in Tibet, which has been governed as an autonomous region of China since it was annexed in the 1950s, came as Shanghai declared some districts to be Covid-free on a social level, implying that all cases were discovered inside quarantined facilities, raising hopes that the city had turned a corner and would soon emerge from lockdown. Authorities stated on Thursday afternoon, however, that stringent restrictions would remain in place throughout the city, including in the regions where the outbreak had been confined.
As per a report from caixinglobal, China’s national health committee has ordered that two to three makeshift hospitals be established in each province to accommodate and treat patients with moderate or asymptomatic Covid-19 illnesses and relieve the burden on the hospital system. Under China’s “zero-Covid” plan, all Covid patients must be segregated, regardless of severity, despite the fact that the highly contagious forms provide a greater challenge. On Wednesday, China recorded 19,927 new infections, with 17,166 of them asymptomatic. Shanghai, which is in its fourth week under lockdown, accounted for more than 94 percent of the new cases.
The current outbreak in China, the worst since Wuhan, is centered in Shanghai. The city reported 2,634 local cases and 15,861 asymptomatic cases on Thursday. Authorities in Shanghai declared two districts free of cases outside of quarantined facilities on Wednesday, a goal that was expected to result in some lockdown restrictions being lifted. Residents have complained about significant food shortages, delivery delays, and increased pricing for everyday necessities as a result of Shanghai’s lockdown.
Over 16 million people are still under lockdown. Wu Qianyu, a municipal health official, said on Wednesday that 7.85 million people will be able to walk outside or return to work in factories, up from the previous week’s exemption of 2 million.
Image Credit: caixinglobal
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