Life in China returning to normal: Business Insider

BEIJING -- China is "by most measures in the clear," with much of life returning to normal, while the United States and a number of European countries are struggling to quash their coronavirus outbreaks and reignite their economies, said an article published by Business Insider on Sunday.

The article said China's recovery was particularly evident over Golden Week, a national holiday that ran from Oct 1 to Oct 7, citing that 637 million people - or 46 percent of China's 1.4 billion population - traveled around the country that week, spending $69 billion.

In comparison, the United States is "far from emulating the success of Golden Week" in the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend amid the daunting challenges facing the country in its wrestle with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has surpassed 8 million. It remains the world's worst-hit nation, with the most cases and deaths, accounting for about one fifth of the global caseload and death toll.

The article attributed China's success in containing COVID-19 to factors such as its ability to test rapidly and on a massive scale, strict enforcement of lockdowns and social distancing, and the high compliance of the general public with measures such as mask wearing. The United States and many European countries have not been able to measure up in these aspects, it added.

The United States and many European countries still have a lot to do to drive down their coronavirus outbreaks to China's level, the article said, warning of rising death toll as winter approaches this year.