China's Local Governments Lower COVID-19 Response Levels... Reduced Vigilance

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] As the spread of COVID-19 in China, excluding Hubei Province, calms down, more local governments are lowering their response levels.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 24th, Guangdong Province in China has decided to lower the response level for the "public health emergency" caused by the COVID-19 outbreak from Level 1 to Level 2.

Guangdong Province became the sixth region in China to lower its COVID-19 response level. So far, Guangdong has reported 1,345 confirmed cases and 6 deaths due to infection, making it the second most affected area in China after Hubei Province. However, the Guangdong government recently judged that the infection spread trend is calming down, leading to this decision.

Last month, all 31 provinces and cities in China designated the public health emergency response level as the highest Level 1, but recently Shanxi and Guangdong lowered their response levels to Level 2, and Gansu, Liaoning, Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces adjusted theirs to Level 3. China manages public health emergencies by dividing them into Levels 1 to 4.

Although the cumulative number of confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 continues to increase in China, the number of newly added confirmed cases is showing signs of stabilization. This calming trend is especially clear when excluding Hubei Province, the outbreak's epicenter.

According to the National Health Commission of China (NHC) as of midnight, 409 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 150 deaths were recorded nationwide. Among the 409 confirmed cases, 398 were from Hubei Province, and among the 150 deaths, 149 were patients from Hubei Province. One death was reported in Hainan Province.

China's new confirmed cases peaked at 1,749 on the 18th, then showed a decline with 394 on the 19th, 889 on the 20th, 397 on the 21st, 648 on the 22nd, and 409 on the 23rd, indicating a plateau. The number of new confirmed cases outside Hubei Province also sharply decreased to 31 on the 21st, 18 on the 22nd, and 11 on the 23rd.

In cumulative totals, 77,150 people across China have been confirmed positive. Among them, 24,734 have recovered and been discharged, and 2,592 have died. Currently, 49,824 confirmed patients are receiving hospital treatment. However, among those being treated, 9,915 are in severe condition, so the death toll is likely to increase further. Outside mainland China, in the Greater China region, 74 cases have been reported in Hong Kong (12 discharged, 2 deaths), 10 in Macau (6 discharged), and 28 in Taiwan (5 discharged, 1 death), totaling 112 confirmed cases.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.