China is the only major country in the world still aggressively trying to eliminate COVID-19, despite mutations that allow the virus to evade vaccine protection and penetrate even stringent curbs. It’s getting harder: the "COVID zero" country hasn’t reported zero new local daily infections since mid-October.
Here’s a roundup of where the virus is once again breaching defenses:
Health authorities battling outbreaks driven mostly by the delta variant sealed off Xi’an, a western Chinese city with 13 million people, at the end of 2021. The dangerous variant had quietly penetrated many communities and spread without detection. Then came omicron, which fueled further infections across the country. The ultra-transmissible variant has been found in three cities since the beginning of the year, including two with ports that are crucial components in the global supply chain.