[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The spread of new coronavirus infections (COVID-19) outside Hubei Province in China showed signs of accelerating.
On the 21st, the National Health Commission of China (NHC) announced that 889 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide the previous day. The death toll increased by 115. With the additional new confirmed cases and deaths reported, the cumulative confirmed cases in China reached 75,465, and the death toll reached 2,236.
Although the number of new confirmed cases in China remained below 1,000 for the second consecutive day, the pattern of development has changed.
What caught attention in the announcement was that the number of new confirmed cases occurring outside Hubei Province was higher than those occurring within Hubei Province.
Previously, the NHC in Hubei Province announced 411 new confirmed cases. The number of new confirmed cases outside Hubei Province reached 478. On the 20th, 53.8% of the total confirmed cases nationwide were reported outside Hubei Province. In particular, a significant number of patients are estimated to have occurred in Shandong Province, which did not announce the number of new confirmed cases.
In China, COVID-19 had so far been concentrated mainly around Hubei Province. Because of this, the proportion of residents outside Hubei Province among the total new confirmed cases ranged between 2% and 18%.
Considering these characteristics, China locked down the Hubei Province area, including Wuhan, the outbreak site, to prevent the spread to other regions. Accordingly, the population of 58 million in Hubei Province underwent lockdown management.
However, as the number of new confirmed cases outside Hubei Province exceeded those within Hubei Province, China now faces a situation requiring changes in its COVID-19 related quarantine measures.
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