City of Shenyang has barred residents from leaving without a 48-hour negative test result and put all housing compounds under ‘closed management’, reports The Guardian.
About the lock down
China has locked down an industrial city of 9 million people overnight and reported more than 4,000 virus cases, as the nation’s “zero-Covid” strategy is confronted by an Omicron wave.
Health authorities reported 4,770 new infections across the country on Tuesday, the bulk in the north-eastern province of Jilin, as the city of Shenyang in neighbouring Liaoning province was ordered to lockdown late Monday.
China has moved fast in recent weeks to snuff out virus clusters with a pick-and-mix of hyper-local lockdowns, mass testing and citywide closures. It reported two Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, the first in over a year. More than 20,000 people have been infected in the wave of the Omicron strain, which has challenged China’s usually successful response strategies and forced authorities to make changes, including freeing up hospital beds from mild-symptom patients.
Authorities have warned of the risk posed to growth by persistent lockdowns as the country strives to balance the health crisis with the needs of the world’s second-biggest economy.
Soaring cases
Shenyang, an industrial base home to factories including carmaker BMW, reported 47 new cases Tuesday as authorities put all housing compounds under “closed management” and barred residents from leaving without a 48-hour negative test result.
On Monday, Shanghai Disneyland resort closed again until further notice, as the city’s case numbers continued to increase, reporting 758 for Sunday.
Minimizing the impact
Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to “minimise the impact” of the pandemic on the country’s economy, but also urged officials to “stick to” the current zero-Covid approach. Dozens of officials have been punished or sacked for failing to keep the virus under control, with the threat of harsh punishment reportedly spurring some officials to impose drastic measures.
Partial lockdowns
Some cities such as Shanghai have avoided a full lockdown and instead imposed a web of individual building lockdowns, even as new daily asymptomatic infections spiral into the hundreds.
Jilin provincial officials announced on Monday that the first 10,000 doses of Pfizer’s oral Covid drug arrived on Sunday, marking the first time Paxlovid has been used in China.
The province last week imposed strict travel curbs banning locals from leaving their cities and counties, while several cities have already confined residents at home.
The southern tech powerhouse of Shenzhen on Monday announced it would lift its week-long lockdown “in an orderly manner”, after having partially eased measures on Friday to minimise the impact of virus shutdowns on factories and ports.
Health officials last week revealed only around half of Chinese aged over 80 have been double-vaccinated, as the spectre of Hong Kong’s dire Covid mortality rates – mainly among the unvaccinated elderly – hangs over Beijing’s decision making.
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Source: The Guardian
