Massive quarantine sites under construction in China's Guangzhou amid Covid spread

Beijing, Nov 29: Amid the surge in cases and the ongoing protests against Covid-19 restrictions in China, huge quarantine sites and makeshift hospitals are reportedly being built to contain the spread of the virus in Guangzhou.

The visuals of the under-construction quarantine sites were shared by NEXTA, an Eastern European media on Twitter. It showed the construction of a quarantine centre for nearly 80,000 people.

While sharing the visuals, it wrote, "In the city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, which has the largest number of cases, the construction of a quarantine center for 80,000 people has begun."

Guangzhou has a population of 13 million. The city has faced an increase in the number of Covid cases since early October. It reported over 7,000 Covid cases earlier on Saturday.

China on Tuesday reported 38,645 new Covid-19 infections out of which 3,624 were symptomatic and 35,021 were asymptomatic. The mainland on Monday reported 40,347 new cases - 3,822 symptomatic and 36,525 asymptomatic infections.

Covid cases are spreading rapidly in Chinese cities. Amid the spread of the virus, the Chinese administration is focusing on building makeshift hospitals and quarantine sites.

China's capital, Beijing and other mega-cities continue to struggle to contain outbreaks, with Chongqing and Guangzhou reporting the bulk of new infections.

Amid the spread, Chinese officials asserted that China must stick with its hard-line 'zero-Covid' policy that mandates lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines for anyone suspected of having come into contact with the virus.

Protests in China against Zero-Covid policy:

Meanwhile, there have been protests in Chinese cities, including the capital city of Beijing, against the country's strict rules regarding lockdowns. Thousand of protestors took to the road and protested against the Zero-Covid policy.

However, China deployed police forces to suppress the rising agitations in the country.

The agitated protestors also protested against Chinese President Xi Jinping, which has been chosen for the third term as the President.

Protesters in Shanghai on Saturday and Sunday called on Chinese President Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party to step down besides opposing the lockdowns and forcible evictions of people into coronavirus medical shelters. Student protests also broke out at the Tsinghua University in Beijing and Communication University in Nanjing, reported news agency PTI.

In recent weeks, protests have erupted in Guangdong, Zhengzhou, Lhasa, the provincial capital of Tibet and other cities, with participants asking for an end to prolonged lockdowns and Covid tests, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Monday.

China detains BBC journalist:

A BBC journalist covering the ongoing protests against stringent zero-Covid policy in China was assaulted and arrested in China recently, the media house said in a statement.

"The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai," Reuters quoted a spokesperson for the British public service broadcaster as saying in a statement.