BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in northwestern China have stepped up COVID-19 containment measures, locking down buildings and locking down districts. , is plunging millions into a quandary in a scramble to stop the spread of infection.
China reported more than 1,000 new COVID cases across the country on Thursday for the third straight day. That’s a modest tally compared to the tens of thousands of people per day that forced Shanghai into a full-blown lockdown earlier this year, but it’s enough to trigger more restrictions across the country.
China’s coronavirus case count remains small by global standards, but this year’s extremely stringent and devastating containment measures for the highly contagious Omicron variant weighed heavily on the world’s second-largest economy. I’m here.
Guangzhou, China’s fourth-largest city by economic output and the capital of Guangdong province, said on Thursday that more roads and roads were closed as new areas were deemed high-risk in a COVID resurgence that will last into the fourth week. Locked down neighborhoods and kept people at home.
Lily Li, 28, from Guangzhou, said, “Many of my friends and colleagues are locked down at home.
“The situation remains precarious. Many places are on lockdown. Classes have been suspended, entertainment venues have been closed. The gym I frequent has been closed.”
According to Nomura, as of Oct. 24, 28 cities had implemented varying degrees of lockdown measures, with about 207.7 million in a region that accounts for about 25.6 trillion yuan ($3.55 trillion) of China’s gross domestic product. people are affected.
This represents almost a quarter of China’s economic output in 2021.
Mainland China stocks fell Thursday as dismal data on the outbreak and COVID-hit industrial sector hurt sentiment.
Wuhan’s predicament
Wuhan, the site of the world’s first outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019, reported about 20 to 25 new infections per day this week, with local authorities reporting more than 800,000 people in one district on Sunday. I ordered you to stay home until
“I don’t know what to do. If I can live like this, I will,” said Zhang, 38, who lives in Wuhan.
“We feel a little numb right now when we look at these news stories about COVID. We feel numb to everything. We feel more and more numb.”
Wuhan has also suspended pork sales in parts of the city after finding one COVID case that authorities said was linked to the local pork supply chain, according to social media images and posts. .
In Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, health officials in the city of 2.5 million people scrambled to contain the rebound of COVID following a week-long holiday for National Day in early October. Social media posts reported food shortages and rising prices of essential commodities.
“Some vegetable and fruit shops have been closed and placed under quarantine to reduce the risk of contagion,” a Xining government official said on Wednesday.
Other large cities across China, including Zhengzhou, Datong and Xi’an, implemented new restrictions this week to curb localized outbreaks.
Beijing closed its Universal Resort theme park on Wednesday after one visitor tested positive for the coronavirus.
China has repeatedly pledged to adhere to a zero-tolerance response to COVID-19 and implement what officials say are necessary measures to contain the virus.
“If someone is infected somewhere and becomes a close contact, they have to be quarantined,” said Wen Bihan, 26, a Beijing resident who has been quarantined in a quarantine facility twice before.
“It’s nerve-wracking.”
($1 = 7.2107 Chinese Yuan)
Reported by Ryan Wu. Additional reporting by Martin Quin Pollard and Shubing Wang, Beijing, and Josh Ye, Hong Kong. Editing by Edmund Klamann, Lincoln Feast, Tomasz Janowski
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