BEIJING: In an effort to limit the spread of diseases, Chinese cities from Wuhan in the centre to Xining in the northwest are raising COVID-19 curbs, blocking off buildings, locking off neighbourhoods, and putting millions of people in distress.
China reported on Thursday that there had been more than 1,000 new COVID cases nationwide for the third consecutive day. While this is a small number compared to the tens of thousands per day that placed Shanghai completely under lockdown earlier this year, it is still sufficient to justify tighter restrictions across the country.
China’s coronavirus caseload has remained low by international standards, but this year’s extremely tight and disruptive containment measures against the highly contagious Omicron form have had a significant negative impact on the second-largest economy in the world.
Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, and the fourth-largest metropolis in China by economic output, closed off additional streets and neighbourhoods and kept inhabitants inside their homes on Thursday as more places were deemed high-risk in a COVID resurgence that continued into its fourth week.
Lily Li, a 28-year-old resident of Guangzhou, stated that several of her friends and coworkers’ homes were under lockdown.”The environment is still shaky. Numerous locations are in lockdown. Both entertainment venues and classes have been suspended. My regular gym has likewise been shut down.”That is about equal to a quarter of China’s projected 2021 economic output.Thursday saw a little decline in mainland China shares as the outbreaks and depressing statistics on the industrial sector were blamed for COVID’s damage.
Wuhan woes:
More than 800,000 people in one region were instructed to stay at home till Sunday after Wuhan, the location of the first COVID-19 epidemic in the globe in late 2019, reported 20 to 25 new illnesses daily.”I’m at a loss for what to do. I believe that’s what we’ll do if we can still live like this “said Chang, 38, a native of Wuhan.
