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New Delhi, Delhi, India
On 31st December 2020, Chinese president Xi Jinping took a victory lap when he declared that China has secured a decisive victory over the pandemic.
However, the coronavirus is still spreading in China. The province of Hebei reporting another outbreak. On Wednesday, it had 120 new cases. Thursday saw another rise which China's biggest in five months. The province has re-introduced lockdown measures.
Rail, air and highway routes to Shijiazhuang are now shut. This is the capital of the Hebei and around 10 hours away from Wuhan. The original epicentre of this pandemic.
Health officials are carrying out mass testing in the city. According to the local media, more than six million people have been tested so far.
The new cases are the first locally transmitted infections since June and health officials expect the numbers to rise.
The authorities have pressed the panic button. Mass disinfection drives have begun with residents facing strict checks.
The latest outbreak --- busts Xi Jinping's claim of normalcy. With his speech on new years' eve --- the Chinese president tried to push a new narrative. He wanted the world to see China. Not as the exporter of the virus. But as the conqueror of the pandemic.
China has been called out again for its lapses. The latest on its list of critics is America's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci.
In an interview, Dr Fauci said China's lack of transparency allowed the virus to spread. He blamed China for delay in reporting --- person to person and asymptomatic transmissions. He said --- many people outside China "got fooled" because of the initial assessment.
He also slammed Beijing for not allowing foreign scientists to investigate the outbreak. This comes just a day after W.H.O chief Dr Tedros also accused China of blocking the probe.
China is yet to grant visas to the U.N. investigators. WHO are probing the origins of the coronavirus.
A year after the outbreak started in Wuhan. The world still doesn't know how the pandemic began. And China --- still refuses to offer answers.
Another lockdown in china is proof of how much it hides. From the world and its people.