China’s Shenzhen home to at least 17 million residents was put under a lockdown as the Chinese Communist Party doubled-down on its zero-Covid policy to stem the rise of new Covid-19 cases. A report by China-based news agency Global Times said that infections were being reported in municipalities of capital Beijing, Shanghai, northeast China’s Jilin, east China’s Shandong and south China’s Guangdong provinces.
New Covid-19 cases in China doubled as the nation recorded more than 3,400 new cases of Covid-19 flared by the Omicron variant which has also impacted Hong Kong. Shenzhen will remain under lockdown till March 20. The city reported 66 local infections on Sunday and has recorded 432 infections since February 15. China also reported that Omicron has now replaced Delta as the dominant strain.
“All public institutions in the city, except anti-epidemic workers, will work from home, or participate in epidemic prevention work and community services,” the city’s municipal council said in a statement accessed by the Chinese news agency. The report also outlined that officials were sacked for their response to the rise in cases.
Health officials from the Jilin province said that infectivity of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was 30% higher than the previous variants. They also said that its ability to replicate is 70% higher than previous variants. Jilin registered more than 2,100 new cases on Saturday. The officials in Jilin have conducted six rounds of testing. Provincial capital of Jilin, Changchun, imposed a total lockdown. Several officials from Jilin’s administration, including mayor Wang Lu, were sacked for their response to the rising cases, Global Times reported.
Swift lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing are hallmarks of China’s zero-Covid policy which has come under criticism for negatively affecting the Chinese economy. While other countries have moved towards living with Covid, notably England, Denmark and several states of the US, China strictly adheres to its zero-Covid policy.
Wang Guangfa, an expert working with the Chinese National Health Commission who also went to Wuhan, said that low inoculation rates among the aged people is also a probable cause for the rise in infections. Individual housing compounds in Shanghai remained locked down but the city has been spared from a total lockdown.
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