Covid-19 cases rise in China; Canton orders new lockdowns

China’s capital warned on Monday that it was facing its most severe test of the covid-19 pandemicwith the closure of businesses and schools in the most affected districts, it also tightened the rules to enter the city when infections increased in Beijing and throughout the country.

China is struggling with numerous outbreaks of Covid-19, from Zhengzhou in the central Henan province to Chongqing in the southwest. On Sunday, 26,824 new cases were registered in the country, which is close to the maximum in April

There were also two deaths in Beijing, in addition to one on Saturday, which had been the first in China since late May.

Canton, a southern city with almost 19 million inhabitants which is fighting the biggest of China’s recent outbreaks, ordered a five-day lockdown for Baiyun, its most populous district. He also suspended restaurants, closed nightclubs and theaters in the the city’s main business district.

The latest wave is testing China’s resolve to stick to the adjustments it has made to its “zero Covid” policy, which calls for cities to take more targeted measures and avoid the widespread lockdowns and tests that have strangled the economy and frustrated residents.

Asian stock markets and oil prices fell on Monday amid investor concerns over the economic fallout from the escalating Covid situation in China, with risk aversion benefiting bonds and the dollar.

Beijing reported 962 new infections on Sunday, up from 621 the day before, and another 316 cases in the first 3 hours of Monday.

City authorities said people arriving in the capital from elsewhere in China will have to undergo three days of Covid tests before being allowed to leave their homes or accommodation.

The city is facing its most complex and serious prevention and control situation since the coronavirus outbreak,” Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a press briefing.

can’t go anywhere

Residents of Beijing’s sprawling Chaoyang district, which is home to 3.5 million people as well as embassies and office complexes, were urged to stay at home.

The streets were unusually quiet, and the shops in the district, other than those selling groceries, appeared to be mostly closed.

The restaurants were empty, save for an employee or two huddled at the entrances around small tables marked “takeout only.”

You can’t go anywhere. Everything is closed. Customers can’t come either. What can be done? Nothing can be done,” said Jia Xi, 32, a salesman in the health sector.

The staff at the entrances of the buildings carried out strict checks on the health applications of mobile phones with the command already known to all Beijingers: “Scan the code!”.

China’s recent efforts to tighten its Covid-19 controls have raised investor hopes for more meaningful easing, even as China faces its first winter of fighting the virus. omicron varianthighly transmissible.

However, many analysts expect this change to not start until March or April, as the government argues that the president’s zero-Covid policy Xi Jinping it saves lives and is necessary to prevent the health system from being overwhelmed.

Experts argue that a full reopening requires a massive vaccination booster effort and a change in messaging in a country where the disease is still widely feared.

The authorities state that they plan to increase the capacity of hospitals and clinics to examine patients and are formulating a vaccination campaign.