China Higher EdNew Wave of COVID Hits China
In August, China experienced the highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the beginning of last year. The tourist destination Zhangjiajie locked down 1.5 million residents, Wuhan and Nanjing ordered multiple rounds of COVID tests for its 10 million residents and enacted partial lockdowns. Many provinces ordered any offline learning activities – from Kindergarten to Language Learning and Exam Preparation programs – to cease during the summer holidays.
Yangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Beijing have or are in the process of sealing off university campuses to reduce potential infections between students and the wider community. Universities are either asking on-campus students not to leave or not to return unless necessary. Many universities also postponed students returning to campus from summer break by one to two weeks.
Those who need to return need to present a 14-day “health record” and travel itineraries (provided by a mobile phone service provider). On August 1st, half of the country’s COVID cases (51) were through community transmission. China is now urging the under-18 population to get vaccinated as the previous round of vaccinations targeted the population between the ages of 18 and 59. China reported 1.6 billion doses of vaccines having been administered, however, no information was released on how many of these recipients are now fully vaccinated.
