More than half a year since Covid-19 stopped its distribution on mainland China, new business has sprung up in the capital, Beijing, in recent weeks.
The number of newly reported cases is not close to the levels seen in many countries outside China, including the United States. Hebei, the worst-hit province, has reported more than 800 newly confirmed cases since January 1. But here’s a look at the provinces that have reported confirmed cases of coronavirus since December 1, with darker shades representing areas with a greater number of cases:
The persistent spread of the virus, especially in the Hebei province surrounding Beijing, has prompted authorities to close several regions and encourage people nationwide not to travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year festival. The holiday officially falls in mid-February this year.
“Given the rapid response by local governments, the effective testing and detection systems and the continuous explosion of vaccines, we believe that the situation will eventually be brought under control,” said Ting Lu, China’s chief economist at Nomura, in a note. of January 18 said. “However, the extremely cold weather and the incoming lunar New Year (LNY) travel storm could make the task of limiting the virus more challenging.”
“The hospitality sector is going to be sluggish, while the industrial sector is likely to remain solid,” Lu said, adding that “markets may have to lower their expectations for strong pent-up consumer demand during the upcoming LNY holiday in mid-February.”
At the beginning of the year, the province of Hebei began to show an increase in cases of coronavirus, with daily numbers reaching 90 last week. The figures do not include the many asymptomatic cases found by mass tests.