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Hong Kong (CNN) -
China did not report new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Monday for the first time since July, according to its National Health Commission (NHC), as authorities redouble their strict approach. zero-covid.
China has been fighting the spread of the highly contagious delta variant since July 20, when a cluster of COVID-19 infections was detected among cleaning personnel at airports in the eastern city of Nanjing.
Since then, it has become the worst outbreak China has seen since 2020, spreading to more than half of the country's 31 provinces and infecting more than 1,200 people.
The delta-driven surge in cases posed the biggest challenge yet to China's inflexible zero-tolerance policy on the virus.
Local authorities responded by putting tens of millions of residents under strict lockdown, deploying massive testing and tracking campaigns, and restricting internal travel.
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The strict measures appear to be working.
Daily infections have declined steadily over the past week to single digits, up from more than 100 from their peak two weeks ago.
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And this Monday, the country reported 21 imported cases and zero locally transmitted symptomatic infections, the first time that no local cases have been recorded since July 16.
It also reported 16 asymptomatic cases, all of them also imported, according to the NHC.
China keeps a separate count of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases and does not include asymptomatic carriers of the virus in the official count of confirmed cases.
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If the trend continues, China could become the first country in the world to control a major delta outbreak.
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China is one of the countries, such as Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, that have tried to completely eradicate Covid-19 within their borders.
Authorities closed the borders to nearly all foreigners, imposed strict quarantines on arrivals, and implemented selective lockdowns and aggressive testing and tracing policies to kill any case that sneaked past defenses.
For more than a year, these measures managed to keep cases close to zero.
But the new outbreaks caused by the delta variant are causing some countries to rethink their approach.
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In Australia, several major cities, including Sydney, Melbourne and the capital Canberra, have been subjected to weeks of lockdown, but cases have continued to rise. This Saturday, the country registered the highest number of cases in a single day since the pandemic began, while thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the prolonged closures.
In an opinion piece published in Australian media this Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison hinted at an end to the country's covid-19 restrictions, saying the closures "are sadly necessary for now" but "will not be. needed for much longer. "
He said the Australian government intended to move from reducing the number of cases to examining how many people were becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 and requiring hospitalization.
Singapore has also drawn up a roadmap to move towards a "new normal" of coexistence with covid-19.
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China, for its part, appears to be resolutely sticking to its zero-covid approach.
The state network CCTV warned this Monday that the pandemic is not over, and that people should not neglect the prevention of the epidemic.
The country has also continued to intensify its vaccination campaign.
As of this Sunday, it has administered more than 1.94 billion doses of domestically manufactured covid-19 vaccines, according to the NHC.
More than 135 doses have been administered per 100 people, a higher ratio than in the United Kingdom and the United States.
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