Even with Zero COVID policy, China faces worst COVID-19 crisis since Wuhan outbreak; here's all you need to know

As COVID-19 cases plummet in several countries, China battles its worst COVID-19 crisis since Wuhan outbreak, reports Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

According to the National Health Commission, the country recorded 3,100 new cases in a single day, which is the highest locally transmitted tally in two years. The high-tech Shenzhen city, which has a population of over 17 million has been shut down by the government to curb further spread of the virus.

Millions across China are currently bound by the country's zero COVID policy, which according to health authorities will stretch further, given that the cases have tripled.

On Friday, on being asked about how long China will hold on to Zero-Covid policy, Premier Li Keqiang answered, "We will continue to gain experience and be adaptive to new developments, so as to keep up the flow of goods and personnel."

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Since March 2020, China has imposed strict lockdowns and restrictions in the country, known as "dynamic zero" strategy, meaning tight lockdowns and immediate mass testing. With the emergence of the Omicron variant, the country further tightened the measures so as to stop the spread of the highly transmissible variant.

The "zero COVID policy" is the Chinese government's way of tackling the COVID-19 crisis and so far, it is said to have contained over 30 outbreaks of COVID-19, including the ones that were driven by the Delta.

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Unlike lockdown strategies in other countries, China's "zero COVID" is extremely rigid. Besides banning people from leaving their houses or buildings, people can also be compelled to stay inside their hotel rooms if they're considered to be high-risk contacts.

Public places like schools, supermarkets, tourist areas and malls have been under lockdown and with the help of mandatory track-and-trace apps, close contacts are usually identified and quarantined immediately. But what's surprising to note is that even under the country's stringent lockdown policy, China faces its worst outbreak in two years.

Local authorities have attributed the current surge in coronavirus cases to the Omicron variant, said a South China Morning Post report. The heavily mutated virus is said to be highly transmissible and since its onset, it has managed to prove dominant in many parts of the world.

The authorities have locked down the high-tech Shenzhen city, said to have over 17 million people. All communities, villages will be sealed and transportation services such as bus and metro services will be suspended from Monday to Sunday, a report by China Daily revealed.

City officials have urged people to work from home and to visit outdoors only to buy necessary items.

Outbound travellers are to submit a negative nucleic acid test result taken in the last 24 hours, the South China Morning Post reported.

However, in recent days, China's COVID management policy has come under a lot of stress, given the rise in the number of cases in many of the big cities, including Shanghai and Beijing.

In response to the latest COVID-19 crisis, the Chinese government has also allowed the use of Rapid Antigen test to detect the SARs-COV-2 virus, which was not the case earlier. Given that antigen tests give prompt COVID results, the testing strategy is expected to diagnose the disease early, so actions can be taken accordingly.