China Reinstating COVID-Like Restrictions To Fight Spread Of 'Chikunguya Virus'

Well, of course it's China.

Reports have emerged out of the People's Republic of China that Chinese authorities enacted and have maintained some COVID-like restrictions in an effort to contain an outbreak of the chikungunya virus. The virus, which had led to more than 7,000 cases as of Wednesday, has predominantly centered around Foshan. 

Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the southern part of the country, sits about 105 miles from Hong Kong. And it's now the site of the largest chikungunya outbreak in Chinese history. 

READ: Tim Walz Unbelievably Says China Is The Only Country With 'Moral Authority'

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause fever and joint pain, and sure enough, in a sign of how countries now view infectious diseases, the Chinese government immediately enacted some COVID-era restrictions in an attempt to control the spread throughout the region.

Protestors in China criticizing the country's 'zero COVID' strategy. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

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In an effort to tamp down on the outbreak, the Chinese government has, per the Associated Press, used "nets," as well as "spraying insecticide" and sent out drones.

As of Wednesday, the rate of new cases has seemed to slow. Still, with the 7,000+ cases, this represents the largest outbreak of chikungunya ever in China. Cesar Lopez-Camacho of the University of Oxford said in a statement that the virus had never been seen in mainland China before. 

"What makes this event notable is that chikungunya has never been established in mainland China before," the statement says. "This suggests that most of the population had no preexisting immunity, making it easier for the virus to spread quickly."

Government officials have used "protocols" of their own at a national level in an effort to avoid international criticism and show their desire to stop the outbreak. And in a scene reminiscent of COVID measures, state TV has shown workers entering office buildings, residential areas, and construction sites to spray for mosquitoes. 

In an even more extreme, COVID-era style policy, the state had forced infected residents to quarantine at home for two weeks. Even though the virus can't be transmitted between people. While China did eventually lift that policy, hospitalized patients are still forced to remain hospitalized for at least a week.

The outbreak isn't concerning on its own, considering it can't be transmitted between humans. But what is notable is how quickly countries, especially China, will return to COVID-style restrictions at a moment's notice. Despite the fact that quarantines and lockdowns and the like have already failed to contain one respiratory virus.

Critics of COVID mandates pointed out, as it was happening, that these restrictions would return. And sure enough, they have. Because those in charge have never had to admit or acknowledge that they didn't work. Thankfully it's fairly limited in scale and scope now. But will it remain that way if an outbreak of infectious disease comes to the US? No one's quite sure, and that's the problem.