Covid Flares Again In Shanghai, Putting Areas Back In Lockdown

(Bloomberg) -- Shanghai will lock down seven city districts this weekend to mass test millions of people as Covid-19 cases continue to emerge in the community, risking more disruption for residents and businesses that have just exited a grueling two-month shutdown.

Authorities said late Thursday they would lock down the Pudong, Huangpu, Jing’an, Xuhui, Hongkou, Baoshan and Minhang districts of Shanghai, with residents to be tested for the virus -- a key tool in China’s Covid Zero arsenal. It comes after infections found in the community rebounded to six on Thursday, from zero the day before. 

There were 5 other infections found among people already in quarantine on Thursday, for a total of 11 cases in the financial hub.

Four of the six community cases were found in Minhang, a district of 2.65 million in the south west of Shanghai. Minhang -- a mostly residential area in Shanghai’s southwest -- will be sealed on Saturday morning for mass testing, according to a statement, while the other districts didn’t specify how long their lockdowns would last. 

The return to lockdown for some in Shanghai underscores the difficulties of China’s attempts to eliminate the virus while the rest of the world accepts it as endemic. The disruption wrought by pandemic curbs have impacted production at companies like Sony Group Corp. and Tesla Inc., with the electric-car maker only now normalizing operations at its factory in southern Shanghai.  

Tesla Shanghai Workers Can Return Home for First Time in Weeks

Most economists say it will be tough for China to meet its annual growth target this year because of lockdowns. By having zero tolerance for new cases, the country risks being in a constant loop of imposing and easing restrictions. 

Still, President Xi Jinping continues to emphasize the country’s adherence to a policy that has delivered one of the lowest Covid death rates in the world. Xi called for Covid Zero to be adhered to “unwaveringly” in a visit to Sichuan province Thursday, according to the state broadcaster, while stating that a balance needs to be achieved with the needs of the economy. 

China’s Xi Urges Efforts to Balance Covid Zero with the Economy

The remarks echoed sentiments from mid-March, when Xi first urged Chinese officials to reduce the economic impact of Covid-fighting measures. Shanghai authorities worked to allow manufacturers to set up so-called closed-loop systems in their plants that enabled them to continue operating. The setups create a bubble in which workers only go to and from the factory, sometimes living on site, and are tested regularly to detect Covid incursions.

The threat of disruptive measures also returned to Beijing on Thursday, with mass testing resumed in several neighborhoods of the capital’s key Chaoyang district, home to company headquarters and embassies. A flareup of Covid in a bar ended a five-day streak of zero community spread. Beijing reported eight new local Covid cases for Thursday.

There are signs China is trying to use ubiquitous and accessible testing as a way to avoid costly lockdowns. Special testing kiosks are being set up on street corners in major cities so that residents are never more than 15 minutes away from a PCR testing opportunity. The idea is that constant testing -- a negative test is required to enter shopping malls and even parks in some places -- will find early chains of transmission before they get out of control. 

China Plans for Years of Covid Zero With Tests on Every Corner

Infections are also spreading in China’s north, with outbreaks in Inner Mongolia and in Dandong, a city on the border with North Korea, which recently acknowledged what it claimed was its first Covid outbreak.  

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.