BEIJING— Tens of millions of people were under lockdown
across
China on Tuesday, as surging virus cases prompted the return of mass
tests and hazmat-suited health officials to streets on a scale not seen since
the start of the pandemic.
اضافة اعلان
China reported 5,280 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday,
more than double the previous day’s tally, as the highly transmissible
Omicron variant spread across a country that has stuck tightly to a zero-COVID
strategy.
That approach, which pivots on hard localized
lockdowns and has left China virtually cut off from the outside world for two
years, appears stretched to the limit as Omicron finds its way into
communities.
At least 13 cities nationwide were fully locked down
as of Tuesday, and several others had partial lockdowns, with some 15,000
infections reported nationwide in March.
Health officials urged people over 60 to get
vaccinated — including the third booster jab — as soon as possible.
Around 80 percent of people in that age group are
double-vaccinated, according to official data — but
Beijing is anxiously
watching the situation in Hong Kong, which now has the world’s highest virus
death rates due to low inoculation among its oldest residents.
Official Jiao Yahui said at a press briefing Tuesday
that “the risk of severe illness is very high” for people in that age group.
‘I panicked’
The northeastern province of
Jilin has been worst hit by Omicron with over 3,000 new cases on Tuesday,
according to the
National Health Commission.
Residents of several cities there including
provincial capital Changchun — home to nine million people — are under
stay-at-home orders.
Health officials said over 8,200 Jilin residents
have been hospitalized, with the vast majority showing mild or no symptoms.
Shenzhen — the southern tech hub of 17.5 million
people — is three days into a
lockdown with many factories closed and
supermarket shelves emptying, while China’s largest city Shanghai is under a
lattice of restrictions.
City officials said at a Tuesday press conference
that “it is not necessary to lock down Shanghai at present”, instead opting for
more “precise” measures.
Scenes of closed neighborhoods, panic buying and
police cordons cast back to the early phase of the pandemic, which first
emerged in China in late 2019.
Although cases from the chaotic initial outbreak in
early 2020 are widely believed to have been under-reported, life since then had
largely returned to normal in China under its strict zero-COVID approach.
But as lockdowns edge closer to Beijing, public
venues have tightened their scrutiny of ubiquitous health QR codes.
From a 21-day home quarantine with her mother and
three-year-old child, project manager Mary Yue said she was forced to isolate
after cases were linked to a playground they had visited.
“I panicked when the health officials called... I
was afraid they’d take us to a quarantine hotel,” the 34-year-old told AFP.
“But this time they are letting people isolate at
home. That’s a huge relief.”
Others expressed exasperation as the pandemic grinds
on in China, while much of the world tries to return to normal.
“The control measures were doing pretty well
before,” Beijinger Yan told AFP, giving one name.
“And now it starts again, when will it ever end?”
Economic clouds gather
Experts forecast a dent to
economic growth as the virus billows out.
“Renewed restrictions, notably the lockdown in
Shenzhen, will weigh on consumption and cause supply disruptions in the near
term,” Tommy Wu of Oxford Economics said in a briefing note.
He added that it will be “challenging” for China to
meet its GDP growth target for the year of around 5.5 percent.
Dozens of domestic flights were canceled Tuesday,
and aviation authorities said more than 100 international flights bound for
Shanghai would be diverted to other Chinese cities between next week and May 1.
Fears over shutdowns extended a tech-fueled rout in
Hong Kong, where stocks plunged more than six per cent.
As the financial
hub grapples with its own deadly COVID-19 wave, a former top government adviser
condemned leader Carrie Lam Tuesday and called for her to “resign in shame”.
Hong Kong’s spike of 4,300 deaths in under three months —
mostly in care homes — has seen Lam’s administration criticized for low
vaccination rates and unclear messaging.
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