China posts 6-month high Covid count as it sticks with strategy

China connected Sunday reported its highest fig of caller Covid-19 infections successful six months, a time aft wellness officials said they were sticking with strict coronavirus curbs, apt disappointing recent investor hopes for an easing.

China recorded 4,420 caller locally transmitted Covid-19 infections connected Saturday, the National Health Commission said, the astir since May 6 and compared up from 3,659 caller section cases a time earlier.

While lawsuit numbers are highly debased by planetary standards, China has stuck with a zero-Covid attack astir 3 years into the pandemic that involves lockdowns, quarantines, predominant investigating and a drastic alteration successful inbound travel.

At a quality league connected Saturday, wellness officials reiterated their committedness to the "dynamic-clearing" attack to Covid cases arsenic soon arsenic they emerge.

China's anti-Covid measures are "completely correct, arsenic good arsenic the astir economical and effective", said illness power authoritative Hu Xiang. "We should adhere to the rule of putting radical and lives first, and the broader strategy of preventing imports from extracurricular and interior rebounds."

Chinese stocks soared last week connected rumors of a imaginable easing of the Covid curbs, and media reports that immoderate tweaks to argumentation could beryllium coming soon.

However, galore analysts person said they bash not expect important easing to statesman until aft China's yearly parliamentary league successful March.

Goldman Sachs analysts said Saturday's announcement showed "the authorities inactive needs to support its zero-Covid argumentation until each preparations are done. This whitethorn instrumentality a fewer months, successful our view," they wrote, saying their "baseline" anticipation was for a reopening successful the April-June quarter.

The confederate metropolis of Guangzhou continued to study rising infections, with 66 caller locally transmitted symptomatic and 1,259 asymptomatic cases, compared with 111 symptomatic and 635 asymptomatic cases a time before, authorities successful the metropolis of astir 19 cardinal radical said.

China's superior Beijing reported 43 symptomatic and six asymptomatic cases, compared with 37 symptomatic and 5 asymptomatic cases the erstwhile day.

Still, the yearly Beijing marathon took spot connected Sunday greeting nether strict Covid protocols, aft being cancelled the erstwhile 2 years.

Some 26,000 participants registered for the lawsuit that began nether smoggy skies successful cardinal Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Runners were required to instrumentality PCR tests for the 3 days starring up to the contention and not to permission Beijing for 7 days.