Covid-19: Wuhan infections remind us not to drop our guard

Resurgence of highly transmissible Delta virus is worrying the authorities again.

The pandemic has come full circle with Sars-Cov-2 infections resurfacing in Wuhan, a city where the outbreak happened in 2019. The announcement by Chinese authorities to launch comprehensive nucleic acid testing of all 11 million residents is a crude reminder of January last year when the whole city was cut off from the rest of the world and put under a strict lockdown for 76 days.

It was unheard of in modern times, yet the unprecedented measure was soon emulated by cities and countries worldwide. China’s success at containing infection at home lent more credence to this approach. More than 18 months later and after months of several vaccination programmes, the news of eight new locally transmitted cases emerging in Wuhan sends a shiver down the spine again. Surely we are better equipped today to fight Covid-19 with many vaccines in circulation, but the fact is the pandemic is not ebbing away any time soon.

China had been successful at controlling the spread of infection and bringing the situation under control last year. Wuhan had not report- ed any local coronavirus case since mid-May 2020 but the resurgence of highly transmissible Delta virus is worrying the authorities again. It has spread to around 26 cities in China in a short span of time and infected people despite strict Covid-safety measures in place, which challenges the feeble confidence and hope we have of returning to life as we knew it before the pandemic anytime soon. In a country where more than 1.7 billion jabs have been administered, the Delta variant is challenging China’s zero-Covid strategy and serves as a reminder to people and countries worldwide on why lowering the guard at this time is not a prudent choice. Even if the rate of vaccination is high in a particular country and infections are low, the mutating strands of Sars-Cov-2 are capable of eroding all gains and leaving long-lasting impact on our health.

The Delta variant appears to cause more severe illness and spreads as easily as chickenpox. The efficacy of vaccines is still being tested against this variant and a final word on the number of booster shots is awaited. We are not out of the woods yet. It is important that we pay heed to doctors and policymakers whose decisions are guided and rooted in science. The call for freedom and choice of wear- ing masks is secondary when our collective safety is in question. The challenge for policymakers and scientists for now is to prevent high hospitalisations and deaths. The pandemic has been testing societies and countries on various fronts, but we can overcome this. Until then, let’s just agree to keep our guard up and fight this virus in a way that is scientifically suggested.

• Asia