China’s new Covid cases top 10k; Beijing sees highest infections in over a year

China on Thursday witnessed the highest single-day spike since April as the country reported over 10,200 Covid infections in the last 24 hours.

With the capital city Beijing’s cases at the highest level in more than a year, the country’s top leaders are now urging for more targeted restrictions to control the virus.

The capital reported 114 new cases for Thursday, whereas Guangzhou reported 225 new locally transmitted symptomatic Covid-19 infections and 2,358 asymptomatic cases for Nov 10, Bloomberg reported citing local authorities.

With the latest outbreak, China is very cautious in every adjustment it makes in its Covid policies. Though questions are being raised on its zero-Covid policy – that has frustrated the public and inflicted damage on the world’s second-largest economy, China may not relax its Covid curbs in the near future. It will however keep improving them according to the changing epidemic situation and mutation of the virus and will be more scientifically accurate in their implementation, disease experts told news agencies.

Experts believe that China’s exit from the Covid pandemic could run through the end of next year, with reopening only starting sometime from April. The country will see a slow return to normality, likely weighing on investors’ hopes for a quick economic recovery, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg.