Some 30 Million People Face Covid Curbs: China Lockdown Tracker
Close to 30 million people are under some form of movement restrictions as more cities and counties across China seek to quell resurgent Covid-19 outbreaks.
(Bloomberg) -- Close to 30 million people are under some form of movement restrictions as more cities and counties across China seek to quell resurgent Covid-19 outbreaks.
The nation reported 352 new cases for Sunday, with the daily figure hovering over 300 for the past week, the highest level since late May. New infections in Shanghai jumped to more than 60 for Sunday, from near zero just over a week ago, spurring concern the city’s brutal two-month lockdown could be revived.
Other metropolises are imposing curbs as outbreaks flare, putting China’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus to the test once again.
Why China Is Sticking With Its Covid Zero Strategy: QuickTake
Xi’an, home to more than 13 million people and the famed Terracotta Warriors, and Wuxi, a manufacturing hub in eastern China with a population of 7.5 million, are both under city-wide restrictions. Xi’an started “seven days of control measures” -- a new description for Covid restrictions now being used by officials -- after a cluster there was found via genetic sequencing to be the BA.5 sub-variant, which may have higher immune escape than earlier omicron strains.
Both cities have closed entertainment venues and suspended dine-in services. Xi’an, which reported about 40 cases in the past week, has also shut schools early for the summer holidays. Wuxi reported 28 infections on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Lanzhou city in China’s northwest, and Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan island in the south, have also started so-called seven-day campaigns, shutting non-essential businesses and carrying out mass testing efforts -- a central pillar of the Covid Zero strategy. Residents not in high-risk areas in these places can still go to work and buy groceries.
The quick responses by cities like Xi’an and Lanzhou came after China’s Covid response playbook was updated at the end of June to codify critical anti-virus policies that had until now varied by province or even town.
Shandong province and Shanghai have overtaken Anhui province to have the highest number of cases. Shandong reported 80 infections, and Shanghai 69 for Sunday. The financial hub also found its first BA.5 case on Friday, further fueling rumors that another lockdown was coming, speculation denied by local officials.
Si county, the epicenter of the outbreak in Anhui -- a province in northeastern China known for agriculture and some carmaking -- reported 39 cases Sunday, although authorities said there has been no infections for the past three days found outside of the government quarantine centers all infected people are sent to in China. The county will carry out testing and checks for another three days before deciding whether to lift a lockdown, authorities said.
A cluster in the manufacturing powerhouse of Guangzhou in southern China has spread to 27 people in at least four cities across Guangdong and Hainan provinces within the past week, with mass testing underway in Hainan’s capital Haikou, and several cities in Guangdong province including Guangzhou and Maoming.
Market and Movement Indicators
- China’s benchmark CSI 300 equities index fell as much as 2.1% Monday, lagging other markets in Asia.
- Subway usage continues to improve, although ridership in Xi’an fell after the city closed entertainment venues and schools, and suspended dine-services, upon finding a BA.5 cluster.
(Updates with charts)
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