China battles mosquito-borne virus with Covid-era methods as U.S. issues travel warning

CHONGQING, China — For nearly two months, health officials in southern China have been waging war on mosquitos, reviving top-down tactics from the country’s zero-Covid playbook

CHONGQING, China — For nearly two months, health officials in southern China have been waging war on mosquitos, reviving top-down tactics from the country’s zero-Covid playbook.

Since July, the province of Guangdong alone has reported more than 10,000 cases of chikungunya fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease that mostly circulates in tropical regions. Foshan, a manufacturing hub in densely populated Guangdong, has been the hardest-hit Chinese city — recording over 600 new infections per day at its peak, more than the combined total of 519 cases reported across mainland China from 2010 to 2019.

The unprecedented outbreak prompted Chinese authorities to adopt a containment strategy akin to the country’s strict zero-Covid policy — a “detect and eliminate” approach.

To curb the spread, workers were sent out to spray insecticide in affected areas multiple times a day. The government also required suspected patients to report their cases promptly and comply with the quarantine mandate.

Health workers disinfecting Shanghai’s Huangpu district in January 2021 after residents were evacuated when Covid cases were detected in the neighborhood.STR / AFP via Getty Images fileThe outbreak in China was triggered by warmer weather this year and a fast-spreading virus strain, Liu Qiyong, chief expert of vector control at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state-run broadcaster CCTV.