NEWS//Controlling COVID in China

Do you know how China has kept its COVID infection numbers low?

While the number of U.S. citizens with COVID continues to rise (Statistica), China's numbers remain remarkably low.

Some may question the accuracy of China's reports about COVID cases. Many news outlets reported that China's COVID infection rate was underreported last spring (for example, the PBS NewsHour). However, China continues to maintain that it has kept COVID infections remarkably low.

It's secret? Aggressively tracking and responding to coronavirus transmission.

Qingdao, a city of nine million people on China's eastern sea coast, recently identified a dozen cases of COVID. In response, the government tested all 9,000,000 residents for the virus.  China has employed similar mass testing in Beijing and other cities.

China also closely tracks the spread of the virus and treats newly infected people before they can spread it further. When lockdowns are put in place, China enforces its bans on citizens leaving their homes, sometimes using drones to monitor scofflaws.

According to the country's National Health Commission, as of this week, China has recorded 85,578 confirmed cases and 4,634 deaths from the coronavirus. Compare that to the United State's 8,027,413 cases and 218,266 deaths (COVIDUSA.net).

Sources: Wall Street Journal, MSN, BBC, Al Jazeera

Update (October 17): Heads roll after the outbreak.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3105672/coronavirus-two-health-officials-china-stood-down-after-cluster