China's daily Covid cases jump to six-month high as outbreaks flare

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
declared the nation will stick with its strict virus controls
The country reported 5,436 cases for Sunday, up 27% from the day before to the most since May 2, when Shanghai was in the midst of its
months-long lockdown. Beijing has shut schools in its most populous district, ordering students to study from home as an outbreak in the
capital persists
Multiple schools in the Chaoyang district, home to corporate headquarters and embassies, halted in-person schooling from Monday, according
Beijing reported 55 new infections for Sunday. Hopes China would start to wind back its zero-tolerance approach to the virus -- fanned by
unverified social media posts last week -- were damped by comments from health officials over the weekend
reporters
led by airlines such as Air China Ltd
and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd
and restaurant groups Haidilao International Holding Ltd
and Yum China Holdings Inc. Still, there are some embryonic signs the country is at least considering easing -- or optimizing -- some
aspects of the policy, which sees lockdowns implemented when even one case emerges and has left China globally isolated. German Chancellor
in the country
The announcement came after Bloomberg News reported authorities are working on plans to scrap a system that penalizes airlines for bringing
virus cases into China. Officials are also debating a potential reduction in mandatory traveler quarantine, Bloomberg reported last month,
citing people familiar with the deliberations. However, NHC officials said over the weekend that outbreaks across the country made sticking
to current policies important
The central government will also ask local authorities in cities including Zhengzhou and Shenzhen to correct excessive Covid control
measures, said Tuo Jia, another health commission official. The southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou found 1,935 cases
Haizhu, the downtown district where most of the cases were detected, is currently under a three-day lockdown announced Saturday, as local
iPhone factory, reported 297 cases for Sunday, after it came under lockdown since last week