The COVID-19 restrictions are at the heart of the unrest in China as the country grapples with a rising number of infections after years of quarantine policies.
CNN reports there is “a growing torrent of dissent toward China’s unrelenting zero-Covid lockdowns.” A fatal fire in an apartment building in Xinjiang has raised further questions, with residents in that city restricted to their homes for more than three months, according to the New York Times. An estimated one-fifth of the country is under restrictions, and more than 1.3 million people in China are under medical observation this week after being exposed to the virus, the Financial Times reported.
China’s zero-COVID policy aims to do just that: eradicate the spread of the virus. But in the three years since the first infections were reported in China, the country is now facing a record number of cases.
Other COVID news to know:
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Researchers at Stanford Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif., are studying Pfizer’s
PFE,
+0.29%
antiviral Paxlovid to see if it can treat long COVID, the constellation of lingering symptoms that can occur after an infection, according to NBC News. There are currently no treatments for long COVID. - Want to test for COVID after Thanksgiving dinner? Time details how you can get free at-home COVID tests through your health insurance.
- The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is 42,900, as of Thursday, according to the New York Times tracker. That’s up 5% over the last two weeks. COVID hospitalizations largely remain steady, at a seven-day average of 28,531 and up 2% over the last 14 days. About 338 people are still dying from COVID every day. Those numbers have also stayed relatively stable and are up 4% over the last two weeks.