Shanghai on Friday announced a record 21,000 new cases and a third consecutive day of testing for Covid, while the lockdown imposed on its 26 million people showed no signs of abating, and other Chinese cities were tightening restrictions, even in places with no recent infections.
Beijing authorities decided to intervene in Shanghai after the failure to isolate the covid with the application of the lockdown in stages, and insist that the country maintain its zero-tolerance policy to prevent the medical system from collapsing.
Authorities across China, a country that has managed to keep Covid under control over the past two years, are stepping up measures to control the coronavirus, including restrictions on movement, mass testing and new quarantine centers.
Beijing has strengthened regular screening in key sectors of the city, requiring all employees of elder care agencies, schools and institutions that handle imported products to be tested at least once a week.
In Shizong County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, shops were closed, transport suspended and residents prevented from leaving their towns or villages.
The Nomura institute estimated this week that 23 Chinese cities have implemented lockdowns in whole or in part, places that collectively are home to around 193 million people and contribute 22% of China’s GDP. This includes Changchun, a major manufacturing hub closed for 28 days.
If lockdown of Shanghai continues throughout April, the city will suffer a 6% loss of GDP, equivalent to a 2% loss of GDP for China as a whole, ING’s Chief Economist for Greater China said in a note. Iris Pang.
