At last, residents of Shanghai were free to come and go as they pleased, a week and a half ago. After two months, one of the strictest lockdowns in the world ended. But that joy did not last long. This weekend, China’s largest and most economically important city will be partially locked again, at least temporarily, as a large majority of its 26 million inhabitants are tested for the corona virus.
The reason: eleven new infections, which the authorities want to prevent further spread.
If many new cases are discovered during the tests, an extension of the lockdown seems inevitable. Shortly after the news broke, residents of Shanghai rushed to the stores to stock up on food.
For the capital Beijing, freedom-restricting measures are also coming into the picture. Until Friday afternoon, 21 new infections were discovered. More than 4,400 people have been quarantined for having had contact with an infected person.
Zerocovid strategy
It shows how much trouble China is having to control the highly contagious Omikron variant with its zero-covid strategy. The strategy boils down to mass testing, detecting infections and instituting strict lockdowns – which should not be called that.
The risk of another resurgence of the virus is real, Zhao Dandan of the Shanghai public health committee said Thursday. “We cannot tolerate any slackening.” President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China is “steadfast” adhering to the zero-covid strategy.
The contrast with other countries, where the presence of corona is accepted as an endemic virus, is great. It brought China one of the lowest death rates in the world, but also puts pressure on the economy.
According to many economists, it will be difficult for the country to meet its growth target of “about 5.5 percent” this year as companies shut down and supply chains are disrupted. The World Bank lowered its growth forecast for China to 4.3 percent this week.
The production of multinationals was also hit, such as that of the American car manufacturer Tesla. It was able to report on Thursday that production capacity has fully recovered since the factory in South Shanghai was allowed to open again on April 19 – under strict conditions.
Local authorities have agreed with manufacturers that their employees can work if they travel from home to the factory in a secluded “bubble” and undergo frequent testing. In some cases they have to stay on the factory site.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of 11 June 2022