China Quarantines College Students under Strict COVID Policy

A woman takes Coronavirus PCR test on the street, in Shanghai, China, 05 September 2022. (EPA)
A woman takes Coronavirus PCR test on the street, in Shanghai, China, 05 September 2022. (EPA)
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China Quarantines College Students under Strict COVID Policy

A woman takes Coronavirus PCR test on the street, in Shanghai, China, 05 September 2022. (EPA)
A woman takes Coronavirus PCR test on the street, in Shanghai, China, 05 September 2022. (EPA)

Almost 500 students at China’s premier college for broadcast journalists have been sent to a quarantine center after a handful of COVID-19 cases were detected in their dormitory.

The 488 students at Communication University of China, along with 19 teachers and five assistants, were transferred by bus beginning Friday night.

Quarantining anyone considered to have been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus has been a pillar of China's strict "zero-COVID" policy. The quarantine centers include field hospitals as well as converted stadiums and exhibition centers that have been criticized for overcrowding, poor sanitation and spoiled food.

As of last week, approximately 65 million Chinese residents were under lockdown despite just 1,248 new cases of domestic transmission being reported on Sunday. Most of those were asymptomatic.

The lockdowns have sparked protests online and confrontations with health workers and police, and have exacted a major toll on the economy, affecting global supply chains for electronics and other products. The weekslong lockdown in China's biggest city of Shanghai over the summer prompted an exodus of migrant workers and foreign business people.

With the release of economic data this week, analysts will be looking for insights into how China's handling of the pandemic is impacting economic activity in the world’s second-largest economy. Lockdowns have been accompanied by nearly daily testing, travel restrictions and the suspension of classes at all levels.

China has pursued the relentless enforcement of the policy, even as virtually every other country has sought to return to normal life with the help of vaccines and drugs to fight the virus.

“Zero COVID” is closely associated with President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, leading to accusations that the government has politicized a public health crisis. His administration has rejected statements from the World Health Organization that the policy is unsustainable, and has refused to approve foreign vaccines that are widely considered more effective than those produced by Chinese companies.

Xi, who has not traveled abroad since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, has taken control of all levers of power and struck a confrontational tone in foreign policy, while sidelining or imprisoning rivals. He has eliminated term limits on the presidency and is expected to receive a third five-year term as Communist leader at next month's party congress.



Kremlin: Putin and Trump Discussed Middle East Tensions, Ukraine Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Kremlin: Putin and Trump Discussed Middle East Tensions, Ukraine Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a 50-minute phone call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.

During the conversation, Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia’s proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.

“The dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East was naturally at the center of the exchange of opinions,” Ushakov told journalists following the conversation between Putin and Trump.

“Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict,” he said, warning of “unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East.”

Putin also emphasized Russia’s readiness to carry out possible mediation efforts, and noted that Russia had proposed steps “aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements” during US-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.

“Russia’s principled approach and interest in the settlement remain unchanged,” Ushakov said.

Trump described the regional situation as “very alarming,” Ushakov said, but acknowledged the “effectiveness” of Israel’s strikes on targets in Iran.

The leaders did not rule out a possible return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, according to Ushakov.

According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump about the implementation of the agreements during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including the exchange of prisoners of war.

“Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age,” Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.

Trump, he said, “noted his interest in a speedy end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”

Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.