China's zero-Covid policy has been among the strictest approaches to tackling the pandemic anywhere in the world.
But a recent surge in infections is forcing it to reconsider how it deals with the pandemic.
How serious is the current wave?
The latest jump in daily cases, widely spread across the country, has been driven largely by the Omicron variant.
Tens of millions of people in China, including the entire north-eastern province of Jilin, and the tech-hub city Shenzhen in the south, have been ordered into lockdown.
Shanghai, China's largest city, has become the latest city to join the list after battling the new wave for nearly a month.
Makeshift hospitals and quarantine centres have been set up across the country.
In the week prior to 24 March, there were just over 14,000 new cases in the whole of mainland China. In the UK over a similar period, there were over 610,000 new infections.
How is China's policy changing?
As more infections are detected across the country, China's strict zero-Covid strategy is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
However, most of its principal elements remain in place:
-Travel to and from China is strictly limited, and there are restrictions on internal movement
-Travellers from abroad with permission to enter China are screened and sent to government-designated hotels for a mandatory quarantine of at least two weeks, followed by a further period of monitoring
-Regular community testing programmes are carried out and if infections are detected, residents can be evicted and sent to quarantine facilities (along with targeted area lockdowns)
-All non-essential businesses have been shut, apart from food shops and some other essential suppliers
-Schools are closed and public transport is suspended, with almost all vehicle movement banned
-As China's healthcare system is put under increasing strain, some regulations have been relaxed:
-People with mild symptoms no longer need to attend designated hospitals, but they still need to isolate at centralised facilities
-Quarantine-period rules have been reduced
-City-wide testing is no longer being carried out - replaced by local community testing
-Self-testing kits are to be made available in stores across the country and online, but those who test positive will need to take PCR tests
How successful has China's zero-Covid policy been?
China has had remarkable success containing the pandemic prior to the current outbreak.
Since the end of 2019, it has reported just over 4,600 deaths (according to Our World in Data). In the United States, more than 970,000 have died and in the UK, a little over 160,000.
That's around three deaths per million people in mainland China, compared with 2,922 in the US and 2,402 in the UK.
Reported infections in China have also been very low throughout the pandemic.
Concerns have been expressed about the accuracy of the official data, but it seems clear that both infection and death rates have been low when compared with other countries.
About 88% of the population is now fully vaccinated. Despite this, China is almost alone in adhering to strict zero-Covid policies.
Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, relaxed their strict policies in the latter part of 2021 as vaccination rates improved.
Cases did then surge in those three countries, largely as a result of the spread of the Delta and Omicron variants of coronavirus - but have remained relatively low in comparison with countries across Europe and in the United States.
HONG KONG, August 17 : Asian markets were broadly down Tuesday as investors weighed record gains on Wall Street against fears the resurgent Delta coronavirus variant may put the brakes on the global economic recovery.
Major US indices rebounded overnight from a slow start as bargain hunters stepped up purchases -- leaving both the Dow and S&P 500 finishing narrowly positive to extend a streak of record-high closes to a fifth straight day.
Buoyed by Wall Street, Tokyo opened up, before erasing early gains and closing down for a fourth consecutive session as fears over a surge in virus cases dampened hopes for the recovery.
"As long as the number of new cases continues to rise to record highs, investors won't feel encouraged," Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a note.
Markets in China have also dragged since a regulatory crackdown on private business by Beijing that has left investors on edge, with Hong Kong tumbling throughout the day and Shanghai closing well down.
The outlook for the global recovery was also hit by Chinese data this week showing retail sales and industrial production slowing in July, with a rapid recovery threatened by renewed localised virus lockdowns and extensive travel restrictions.
Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Banking Group, said the figures "suggest the economy is losing steam very fast".
Surging infections linked to the Delta variant of the coronavirus "also adds extra risk to August's activities", he added.
Markets in Seoul were down, as were Taipei and Sydney, where millions remain under coronavirus restrictions with little end in sight as cases tied to the Delta variant soar.
Wellington also ended the day on losses, hit by news that New Zealand would move into a snap three-day lockdown after recording its first case of locally transmitted Covid-19 in six months.
London, Paris and Frankfurt all opened down. The virus gloom has also hit oil prices, which fell for a fourth straight day in losses prompted by the weak economic data from Beijing.
"As data begins to reflect the full impact of the shutdown in China, investors are worried this negative trend we're seeing won't just be a localised issue," Bart Melek of TD Securities told Bloomberg TV.
"We are moving from expectations of a robust deficit to a potential surplus as the variant continues to halt the growth rate of demand." But some cause for optimism may come later in the day stateside, where investors will be closely watching the US retail sales data for signs that the country's consumer spending remains healthy.
- Key figures around 0720 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 27,424.47 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 25,725.76
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2 percent at 3446.97 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,122.42
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1764 from $1.1773
Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3793 from 1.3830
Euro/pound: UP at 85.293 pence from 85.13 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.16 yen from 109.27 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN at 66.78 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN at 69.00 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 35,625.40 (close)
Bloomberg News contributed to this story.
NEW DELHI, April 26: The US and Britain rushed ventilators and vaccine materials to India Monday as the country battles a catastrophic, record-breaking coronavirus wave that has overwhelmed hospitals and set crematoriums working at full capacity.
A surge in recent days has seen patients' families taking to social media to beg for oxygen supplies and locations of available hospital beds, and has forced the capital New Delhi to extend a week-long lockdown.
The country of 1.3 billion has become the latest hotspot of a pandemic that has killed more than three million people, even as richer countries take steps towards normality with quickening innoculation programmes.
"He was gasping for air, we removed his face mask and he was crying and saying 'save me, please save me'," Mohan Sharma, 17, said of his father, who died outside a Delhi hospital.
"But I could do nothing. I just watched him die," Sharma told AFP. France, Germany and Canada have also pledged support to India, which has driven increases in global case numbers in recent days, recording 352,991 new infections and 2,812 deaths on Monday -- its highest tolls since the start of the pandemic.
Creaking health facilities in poorer countries were exposed Sunday when more than 80 people died as fire ripped through a Baghdad hospital for Covid-19 patients, sparking outrage and the suspension of top Iraqi officials.
- Vaccine surplus -
The first of nine airline container-loads of supplies from the UK, including ventilators and oxygen concentrators, was set to arrive in India early Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, pledging the UK would do "all it can" to help.
The White House said it was making vaccine-production material, therapeutics, tests, ventilators and protective equipment immediately available to India.
But it did not mention whether it would send any of the 30 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses it currently holds in surplus, sparking accusations of hoarding.
India's Hindu-nationalist government is facing growing criticism for allowing mass gatherings across the country in recent weeks, with millions attending religious festivals and thronging political rallies.
The glitzy Indian Premier League is also under pressure, with a leading newspaper suspending coverage over the IPL's decision to keep playing cricket during the latest wave, and star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin withdrawing to support his family during the pandemic.
On Sunday, Twitter confirmed it withheld dozens of tweets -- including from opposition lawmakers -- critical of the government's handling crisis after a legal demand from New Delhi.
- Fiji funeral -
Japan's annual "Golden Week" holiday got underway with new restrictions in Tokyo and Osaka, where shopping malls and department stores were asked to close and residents urged avoid non-essential travel.
Bars and restaurants selling alcohol have also been asked to shut early during the week -- usually Japan's busiest travel period -- which comes just under three months before the pandemic-postponed Olympics are due to get under way.
Fiji's capital Suva entered a 14-day lockdown Monday after detecting the first community transmission cases in 12 months following a funeral.
The tourism-dependent islands have recorded fewer than 100 cases and just two deaths in a population of 930,000, and the moves comes as a huge blow for hopes of opening quarantine-free travel bubbles with Australia and New Zealand.
But Americans dreaming of Paris or Florence were given some hope when EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said US tourists vaccinated against Covid-19 would be able to visit the European Union in the coming months.
She gave no timetable, but told the New York Times that the new rules could be in place by this summer.
- 'In the flesh!' -
Motor racing fans also got a boost with the news a limited number of spectators could be allowed to attend the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Formula One chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali said Sunday.
And another limited glimpse of pre-pandemic life was on display in the US, at an Oscars ceremony reuniting some of Hollywood's A-listers -- unmasked and vaccinated -- for the first time in more than a year.
"We're here, isn't it crazy?" said best actor nominee and "Sound of Metal" star Riz Ahmed. "Human beings in the flesh!"
The hard-hit United States has passed a hopeful milestone as half its adults have had at least one Covid vaccine dose and from Monday all its over 18s will be eligible to get their shot.
The positive news from America -- the world's hardest-hit country -- comes amid easing restrictions for several European nations and the launch of a quarantine-free travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand.
But in India authorities were scrambling to free up hospital beds and secure additional supplies of oxygen and treatment drugs as the vast nation reported a record daily
caseload.
More than a quarter of a million new infections were tallied Sunday, with health workers bracing for further surges as millions of pilgrims attend a religious festival and ongoing state elections draw huge rallies.
The coronavirus has killed more than 3 million people and infected at least 140 million, devastating the world economy and upending daily life since emerging in China in December 2019.
Roughly 130 million Americans aged 18 and over have now received a shot, representing 50.4 percent of the adult population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday.
The US is a world leader in vaccinations, but a recent surge in new daily infections prompted top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci to warn Sunday that the country remains in a "precarious position."
White House efforts to speed up vaccinations hit a snag when health authorities reported six cases of young women developing a clotting disorder after taking the Johnson & Johnson shot. But Fauci predicted the J&J jab would soon return to circulation, albeit possibly with some restrictions or warnings on its use.
- ' Cry, hug, kiss'
Australia and New Zealand got a glimpse of normal life Monday, as a long-awaited quarantine-free travel bubble opened across the Tasman Sea.
Family members tearfully reunited at Sydney's airport, while others readied for their first outbound flights in more than a year after New Zealand closed its doors in response to the pandemic.
"(I'll) yell, scream cry, hug, kiss, (feel) happy -- all of these emotions at once," Denise O'Donoghue, 63, told AFP as she prepared to board her plane.
The opening received saturation coverage from media in both countries, with live television reporting from airports providing regular updates on the progress of flights.
On a grass embankment at the foot of Wellington Airport's runway, the words 'WELCOME WHANAU' (family) were spelled out in giant letters.
In Germany the mood was sombre as it held a national memorial service Sunday for its 80,000 Covid-19 victims as debate rages over measures put in place by Angele Merkel's government to halt contagion.
Anita Schedel, the widow of a 59-year-old doctor who died from the virus, spoke of the ordeal of watching her husband first be hospitalised and then succumb to the disease.
"After he arrived in hospital, my husband phoned me to say 'Don't worry, I'm in good hands. We'll see each other again'. Those were his last words," she said at the ceremony.
Portugal lifted its suspension on flights to and from Britain and Brazil for "essential trips," and was set to allow restaurants, shopping centers, high schools and universities to reopen from Monday.
Switzerland was also set to start the week with a step towards normality, with outdoor seating permitted at restaurants and bars and cinemas, sports facilities, and in-person classes at universities re-opening.
- Israel mask-free again -
In Fiji authorities ordered two cities into lockdown Monday after recording its first case of Covid-19 community transmission in 12 months.
The Pacific island nation has largely contained the virus through strict isolation measures and border controls, recording less than 100 cases and just two deaths in a population of 930,000.
Meanwhile Israelis stepped into the streets without masks on Sunday for the first time in a year, as the country vaccinates its way out of a coronavirus nightmare. Just months ago Israel had the world's highest infection rate, but sent its coronavirus caseload tumbling after striking a deal for a vast stock of Pfizer/BioNTech jabs.
"It's very strange but it's very nice," said Eliana Gamulka, 26, after getting off a bus near the busy Jerusalem shopping boulevard of Jaffa Street and removing her face covering. "You can't pretend that you don't know anyone any more," she smiled.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Aug 12: Health authorities in New Zealand were scrambling Wednesday to trace the source of a new outbreak of the coronavirus as the nation’s largest city went back into lockdown.
WELLINGTON, April 20: New Zealand will extend the lockdown measures in place to beat the coronavirus by a week, after which it will move to a lower level of restrictions, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, April 3: About 100,000 tourists stuck in New Zealand since it began a lockdown last week were starting to fly to their home countries Friday.
