In the context that the Covid-19 pandemic is still complicated around the world, in China, people’s lives are gradually returning to normal.
On August 23, this billion-people nation officially announced it had successfully controlled the Covid-19 pandemic once again, bringing the number of new community infections in this outbreak to zero. And since then. So far (data up to 9/9) China continues to keep the F0 clean result in the community.
To achieve that success, during this outbreak, China has increased testing at an unprecedented rate. Local authorities in provinces and cities have continuously tested and checked citizens many times to ensure the earliest detection of new infections. According to statistics, more than 100 million tests have been performed during this outbreak.
In addition, similar to previous times, China also increased isolation of epidemic areas. The capital Beijing even had a time when it was ready to isolate any place if even 1 positive case was detected. Almost all flights and terminals were suspended at a time when less than 10 cases of Delta variant infection were detected.
Many provinces of this country also advise people to stay at home with strict isolation policies. Local authorities in some provinces even refused to let people from epidemic areas transit.
This rapid rate of disease control by China has surprised many experts because by comparison, they appear to be much more effective than many developed countries.
For example, in Australia, this country has had to go through 6 times of national isolation and now more than 50% of the country’s 26 million people are still forced to stay at home, but the disease is still not under control.
In the US, the government is having to increase vaccination coverage before the situation of Delta mutant infection becomes more complicated than ever.
In contrast, China is controlling the epidemic situation quite well when there are no deaths in this outbreak.
2.1 BILLION DOSAGE OF VACCINE COVID-19
China is also impressive when it is the country with the most impressive Covid-19 vaccine coverage rate in the world. Accordingly, the authorities of this country announced on August 27 that their Covid-19 vaccination series had exceeded 2 billion doses.
As of August 26, more than 889 million people have been fully vaccinated with two doses, with a total of 2,129,833,000 doses of the domestically produced Covid-19 vaccine having been used, an official at the National Health Commission said. . Thus, the above number is enough to vaccinate about 76.2% of the population of China. This achievement puts China on par with the UK and ahead of the US in terms of the proportion of the population that is now fully immunized.
Notably, the 2 billion dose milestone comes just 10 weeks after the country crossed the 1 billion dose mark for the first time in June. China now accounts for about 40% of the approximately 5 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine provided. level globally.
China’s push to increase vaccination rates has accelerated since July, when the highly contagious Delta variant caused infections to rise across the country.
Speaking at a health conference in late August, China’s top respiratory expert, Zhong Nanshan, said the country is aiming to fully vaccinate 80% of its 1.4 population. billion people by the end of this year.
China’s latest vaccination campaign targets the elderly, minors and residents in the country’s vast, remote rural areas.
NOVO PEOPLE TRAVEL ONLY
The fact that the epidemic is basically under control helps Chinese people’s lives almost return to normal. Data from Trip.com shows that Chinese are flocking to travel during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with tour bookings increasing as restrictions on intercity travel begin to be lifted.
An increase in hotel bookings is expected to help revive China’s domestic tourism market, which was disrupted in the summer when the Delta variant caused a new outbreak, leading to Locked down and restricted traffic across the country.
However, analysts and tour operators say most travelers still avoid booking long-distance trips and instead mainly choose short-term stays, closer to home. The reason is because many people are still hesitant after the tour cancellations related to the Covid epidemic in recent months.
Between August 23 and September 6, intercity tour bookings made on Trip.com Group’s Ctrip platform increased by 365 percent, while private group tours increased by up to 550%.
Beijing, home to the new Universal Studios area is the most popular destination for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which lasts for three days from September 19.
Bookings here via Ctrip were eight times higher on Monday than they were two weeks ago, and airfares are up 20% this week compared to the same period last year. Bookings at tourist attractions such as Hainan and Sichuan provinces also increased by 323% and 528%, respectively, compared with two weeks ago.
Online travel company LY.com estimates 800 million domestic tourists will hit the road during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Fang Zeqian, a travel analyst with Trip.com Group, said current travel trends could be seen as a harbinger of a major boom during the week-long Chinese National Day holiday in early October.
Although there are signs of recovery, short trips still account for a larger market share during the Mid-Autumn Festival, said Guan Wenlu, CEO of travel agency Dear Voyage.
“As far as I know, all tour operators operating long-distance routes do not perform well in booking tickets during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The only type of tourism that stands out is the short trips near the cities. , such as hotels two or three hours away from Shenzhen or Shanghai”.
Inter-provincial travel remains discouraged or prohibited for employees of state agencies and state-owned enterprises.
Overall, China’s domestic market has not fully recovered and people are still hesitant about traveling, said Chen Xia, manager of a local travel agency in the city of Chongqing.
“The summer outbreaks have ended, but visitor numbers have not yet recovered. The Mid-Autumn Festival lasts only three days, people are mainly traveling short distances, and they can book hotels and tickets in advance of the holidays. three- to five-day feast”.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, said that China should “completely lift non-essential travel restrictions and encourage tourism to fully recover” during the upcoming holiday season.
Nguồn: SCMP, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNN