As the world breathes the first whiffs of normality in over two years, and cities open up with people returning to work and children to schools, China is staring at another spate of lockdowns. Beijing locked down a city of 17.5 million people on Sunday, restricting access by suspending services amid fears of another possible coronavirus outbreak.
China, where the first coronavirus cases were detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, has reported a total of 4,636 deaths on the mainland out of 1,15,466 confirmed cases since the pandemic started. According to Worldometer, China on Monday reported 1436 cases in 24 hours. Its numbers are low compared with some countries, but authorities say they are ready to lock down communities if one case is found.
While China has imposed lockdowns, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Monday there were no current plans to further tighten strict social distancing measures as authorities battle to contain a deepening coronavirus outbreak. Lam said there was limited room to tighten further, with the global financial hub already having put in place the strictest measures since its Covid strategy began in 2020.
A worker in protective gear helps pass on a bag from a resident inside a locked down community on Sunday. (Photo: AP)
WHY IS CHINA GOING BACK INTO LOCKDOWN?
The lockdown in China has been imposed under its “zero tolerance” strategy, which aims to find and isolate every case. The approach was first introduced at the beginning of the pandemic by the government, which has seen large scale on the spur of moment lockdowns, mass testing, and travel bans.
As part of the instant lockdowns and the zero-tolerant policies, residents in these regions have to rely on social services offered by the Chinese government that also includes ration, medical and food deliveries. The lockdown also ensures a complete shutdown of border areas in a bid to keep the cases out and to isolate those who have tested positive.
Experts had been hopeful that the country’s methods that ensured a safe outbreak-free Olympics could have paved the way for it moving away from the zero-tolerance policy. However, new lockdowns do not show it happening anytime soon.
The number of new coronavirus cases in an outbreak in China’s northeast tripled Sunday and authorities tightened control on access to Shanghai in the east, suspending bus service to the city of 24 million. (Photo: AP)
WHICH REGIONS ARE IN LOCKDOWN?
The new Covid restrictions were first imposed on Friday, when the industrial city of Changchun with a population of 9 million was put on lockdown. In Beijing, the public is not allowed to leave and the government has closed schools in Shanghai. In Beijing, where five new cases were reported, part of the Yosemite housing complex in the northeastern district of Shunyi was locked down after an infection was found there.
The Shanghai city government, where 22 new cases were reported Saturday, announced schools would switch back to teaching online. Shenzhen, which went under lockdown, will see everyone undergo three rounds of testing after 60 new cases were reported on Sunday. Shenzhen is home to some of China’s most prominent companies, including telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Ltd., electric car brand BYD Auto, Ping An Insurance, and Tencent Holding, operator of the popular WeChat message service.
In Hong Kong, a health official warned the public not to assume the territory’s deadly coronavirus surge was under control as the government reported 190 new fatalities, most of them elderly people, and 32,430 new cases. According to the Associated Press, residents of Cangzhou, south of Beijing, were told to stay home after nine cases were reported there.
The Shanghai city government, where 22 new cases were reported Saturday, announced schools would switch back to teaching online. (File Pic)
GUANGDONG COULD SEE 75,000 DAILY CASES IF CURBS ARE LIFTED
The lockdowns come in the backdrop of a report showing Daily Covid-19 cases in the southern manufacturing hub of Guangdong province could surge to more than 75,000 if curbs are removed and travel is allowed. According to Reuters, Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, is on the frontline of a new outbreak fuelled by highly infectious variants like Omicron.
The continued implementation of “non-pharmaceutical interventions” (NPIs) such as mask mandates, social distancing, and lockdowns will keep infections at a manageable level, a study published by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) said.
The models showed if the current suppression strategy was maintained, including two-week quarantine for incoming visitors, infections could be kept low even with a 20% recovery in travel.
With cases going down across the world, China does not seem to be ready to ease its strategy as it battles coronavirus for the third year in a row.