Shanghai marks milestone in battle against coronavirus, Beijingers anxious

Shanghai said on Saturday it had detected no new daily cases of COVID-19 outside of quarantine areas, marking a milestone in its battle to contain the virus, which has brought the city of 25 million to a standstill and has unnerved people. residents of the capital, Beijing.

the streets of beijing They were eerily quiet at the start of a five-day Labor Day break, and residents were anxious for authorities to impose more restrictions during a holiday when many often travel or socialize.

Look: China registers 52 deaths and 5,659 new coronavirus infections

“You look at a city that used to be crowded and now it’s empty. You wonder how these people manage to survive,” said Li, 35, who works in the financial sector in beijing.

In the eastern commercial capital of Shanghai, scenes of houses and buildings surrounded by fences to prevent residents from leaving have grabbed the news at a time when most other countries in the world are learning to live with COVID.

China maintains a zero-COVID policy aimed at stamping out the disease, fueling frustration, especially in Shanghai, where many residents have been in lockdown for more than a month. Some, struggling to find food and other daily necessities, have shown rare public opposition to strict government controls.

However, if the zero-tolerance campaign works, it would be a victory for President Xi Jinping’s approach in a year in which he is expected to win an unprecedented third term.

Shanghai representatives did not discuss the interruption in COVID transmission at their daily news conference, although social media applauded the news.

”Shanghai has finally reached zero at the community level! Shanghai wake up ASAP!”said a post on the Weibo platform.

Zero cases on Friday outside quarantine areas in Shanghai compared to 108 on Thursday. Some, however, downplayed the milestone, noting that most of the city’s residents were locked in some form of quarantine.

On Saturday, health authorities said there were nearly 16,000 cordoned off areas in Shanghai, with more than 4 million people unable to leave their homes. Another 5.4 million people were prevented from leaving their compounds.

In practice, many of the remaining residents in low-risk prevention areas are still not allowed to leave their compounds.

”The prevention and epidemic control of the city is still in a critical state, and the trend is still that people need strengthen controlssaid Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai health commission.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The battle in Shanghai to curb the highly transmissible omicron variant has taken a heavy toll on the economy, with logistics chains crippled by the restrictions.

China’s factory activity in April contracted at the fastest pace in 26 months to the lowest level since the early months of the pandemic, first detected in central China, as lockdowns halted industrial output and disrupted supply chains. supply. Data published on Saturday raised fears of a sharp slowdown in the second quarter that will weigh on global growth.

Shanghai officials, who say they are anxious to get factories back up and running, said that more than 80% of the 666 prioritized companies had restarted production and that they had drawn up a second list of 1,188 companies.

Infections are easing as China enters the Labor Day break, which runs through Wednesday, traditionally one of the busiest tourist seasons.

beijing will implement another two rounds of COVID tests on May 1 and 3 in its most populous district of Chaoyang, known for its nightlife, shopping malls and embassies. The city will stop all restaurant dining between May 1 and May 4, an official with the local commerce office said, asking residents to “cook at home”.

Officials have not provided a timeline or strategy for returning to a semblance of normalcy.

Nomura estimates that 46 cities are in full or partial lockdown, affecting 343 million people. Societe Generale estimates that provinces experiencing significant restrictions account for 80% of China’s economic output.

Source: Elcomercio

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