COVID-19: Delta variant cripples China as it continues to witness rise in new cases

China is grappling with Coronavirus outbreak as the country continues to witness a rise in COVID-19 cases. China reported 124 new confirmed Coronavirus cases on August 5, in the mainland, according to the National Health Commission China. The data showed that the country recorded 80 local cases of COVID-19 cases, a day before.

Rise in COVID-19 cases

A possible increase in COVID-19 infections caused by the Delta variant is creating fresh challenges for China's expensive city isolation policy. The country's ruling Communist Party, under President Xi Jinping, is presently combating the most serious outbreak since last year's peak in Wuhan. The Chinese government is implementing some harsh steps to combat the situation. In order to curb the spread of the virus, travel restrictions have been imposed and mass testings are being conducted in several parts of the country.

Of the new cases on August 5, 58 were found in the eastern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, according to AP. The recent Coronavirus outbreak originated from Nanjing, China, during an international flight from Moscow, reported Xinhua news agency citing Ding Jie, deputy director of the municipal center for disease control and prevention. On the flight, cabin cleaners were infected with the variant and it then spread to a group of airport cleaning employees which later spread to others who travelled to the airport. 

COVID-19 cases in China

According to China's National Health Commission, the Chinese mainland reported 124 new cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases on August 5. The overall tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 93,498. Of them, 87,492 patients had been cured and discharged from the hospital. The total number of fatalities reported due to the novel virus is 4,636. 27,818 confirmed infections have been reported in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan province. The overall tally of confirmed cases in Hong Kong is 12,002, 63 COVID-19 cases in Macao, and 15,753 cases have been reported in Taiwan. 

IMAGE: AP

Inputs from AP