China quarantines college students under strict COVID policy

BEIJING (AP) — 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, 19 teachers and five assistants at Communication University of China were transferred by bus beginning Friday night. The move underscores China’s relentless enforcement of its strict “zero-COVID” policy, even as virtually every other country has sought to return to normal life with the help of vaccines and medications to fight the virus. As of last week, approximately 65 million people in China were under lockdown despite just 1,248 new cases of domestic transmission being reported Sunday. The lockdowns have sparked protests and have exacted a major toll on the economy.