Risking no lives, China's anti-virus approach shows nation's priority

BEIJING - The daily increase of China's locally confirmed COVID-19 infections fell to single digits on Monday, with only six cases reported, showing the efficacy of the country's targeted and intensive control measures following the resurgence from the highly contagious Delta variant.

Three locally confirmed cases were each reported Monday in East China's Jiangsu province, where the recent Delta outbreak first emerged in mid-July, and the central province of Hubei, hit hard by COVID-19 last year.

During the resurgence, the daily increase of locally transmitted confirmed cases jumped to 108 on Aug 9. A total of 18 provincial-level regions had reported local infections as of Aug 12, and no deaths were reported, said figures released by the National Health Commission.

Strict, scientific, and swift measures have been implemented in affected areas since July, highlighting the country's principle of putting people's lives first. With massive nucleic acid testing, accelerated vaccination, closed-loop management, and travel restrictions in place, China has seen an apparent downward trend in new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.