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Mass testing, lockdowns kick in as China battles worst Covid wave in 2 years
Seventeen million people in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen began their first full day under lockdown Monday as China recorded 2,300 new virus cases nationwide.
The Chinese authorities reported 2,300 new virus cases nationwide on Monday, news agency Reuters reported. A day earlier, China witnessed a single-day spike of over 3,400 Covid-19 cases, the highest daily figure in two years. After two years of virtually closed borders, mass testing, targeted lockdowns and quarantines, the restrictions are being scaled as cases surge across the country.
Lockdowns, stricter curbs kick in
Seventeen million people in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen began their first full day under lockdown Monday, as the southern city battled an Omicron flare-up in factories and neighbourhoods linked to nearby Hong Kong, which is recording scores of daily deaths as the virus runs rampant, reports said. China's largest city, Shanghai, also remained sealed off on Monday with several residential areas and offices shut as city authorities try to avoid a full lockdown. The city reported around 170 new virus cases on Monday.
China’s Dongguan city in Guangdong province suspended the operation of buses and the subway network from Monday.
At least five cities in the province have been locked down since the beginning of March, including the major industrial base of Changchun, whose nine million residents were confined at home Friday.
Mass-testing begins
China on Friday said it would for the first time allow the general public to use Covid-19 antigen self-test kits that do not need medical workers to take samples. The country’s Health Commission also announced its plan of scaling up Covid-19 testing manifold.
Zero-tolerance policy to stay
China's strict zero-covid approach is here to stay as authorities are trying to avoid the implementation of mass city-wide lockdowns, news agency AFP reported. China has so far managed to control sporadic domestic outbreaks through a combination of snap lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions. Top medical expert Zhang Wenhong said Monday that China cannot relax its zero-Covid policy just yet despite the low fatality rate of Omicron. "It is very important for China to continue to adopt the strategy of community Covid-zero in the near future," Zhang wrote on social media. "But this does not mean that we will permanently adopt the strategy of lockdown and full testing."
China's caseload since the start of the pandemic, just over 115,000, is a fraction of those recorded elsewhere. The official death toll has stayed under 5,000.
(With AFP, Reuters inputs)
