The coronavirus variant first found in India has begun to surge in China, The Daily Beast reports.
- The surge has been so high that the Chinese government sent the city of Guangzhou — which has about 15.3 million people — into lockdown, according to The Daily Beast. Hundreds of flights have also been canceled to stop people from entering the city.
The India variant — now officially called the Delta variant — has been doubling every day.
- “In this race against the virus, we must run a bit ahead and run faster than before in order to block the spread of the virus and cut off the infection chain in time,” Huang Guanglie, director of the Guangzhou municipal health commission said Tuesday, according to The Daily Beast.
Guangzhou deputy mayor Li Ming said the Delta variant has a short incubation period with a higher viral load than the traditional mutation, per The Guardian.
- However, Ming said the virus’ trajectory in the country is “under control,” according to The Guardian.
The Delta variant has been making its way throughout many Asian countries, according to the Global Times. For example, Vietnam — which had once been celebrated as a COVID-19 success story — is now battling the Delta variant.
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Experts told the Global Times there needs to be preventative measures taken to make sure the variants don’t continue to spread.