Chinese authorities ordered the confinement of 1.7 million people in Anhui province (eastern China), where almost 300 new cases of COVID-19 were reported this Monday, most of them asymptomatic.China is the last major economy to maintain a strict health strategy against the coronavirus, based on quarantines and mandatory tests.The severe "zero tolerance" policy of the Xi Jinping regime continues after having overcome in the last three months a wave of outbreaks attributed to the omicron variant that has caused record numbers of infections not seen since the start of the pandemic in the first half of 2020.The current outbreak in Anhui, where authorities detected hundreds of cases last week, comes as the Chinese economy begins to recover from a months-long lockdown in Shanghai and tough restrictions in the capital, Beijing.Two counties in the province - Sixian and Lingbi - announced the confinement of more than 1.7 million people, who are only allowed to leave their homes to undergo tests.Images from state broadcaster CCTV showed empty streets in Sixian over the weekend and people lining up for the sixth round of mass testing in recent days.The province reported 287 new infections on Monday, including 258 people who had no symptoms, according to China's National Health Commission, bringing the total number of cases detected to just over 1,000.Neighboring Jiangsu province also reported 56 new infections in four cities on Monday.The total number of active infections in mainland China amounts to 532, none of whom are serious.According to the institution's accounts, since the start of the pandemic, 225,923 people have been infected in the country, among whom 220,165 have managed to heal and 5,226 have died, although the total number of infected people excludes asymptomatic people.To date, medical follow-up has been carried out on more than 4.2 million close contacts with those infected, of which 61,500 are still under observation.Although cases remain low relative to China's huge population, authorities insist a "zero covid" policy is necessary to avert a health calamity.(With information from AFP and EFE)