Several of China’s biggest cities have stepped up their Covid restrictions this week, affecting the activities of tens of millions of people.
China’s Guangzhou on Wednesday imposed Covid-19 curbs in parts of the city as it joined Shenzhen in battling local flare-ups in two of southern China’s most economically vibrant metropolises.
Mindful of balancing economic needs with efforts to contain each and every outbreak, authorities said the curbs would last for just a few days, although some smaller cities extended restrictions earlier this month.
China’s so-called “dynamic Covid zero” policy makes it an outlier as other countries gradually emerge from coronavirus restrictions, despite the cost to the world’s second-largest economy that already faced slower growth.
Cutting off family members: ‘It had never occurred to me that you could grieve somebody who was still alive’
The bird-shaped obsession that drives James Crombie, one of Ireland’s best sports photographers
The Dublin riots, one year on: ‘I know what happened doesn’t represent Irish people’
The week in US politics: Gaetz fiasco shows Trump he won’t get everything his way
Guangzhou, a city of nearly 19 million residents near Hong Kong, reported just five locally transmitted infections for Tuesday, but authorities ordered certain areas in one district to close indoor entertainment venues and dining at restaurants until Saturday.
The city also ordered all kindergartens and primary, middle and high schools in the district to delay resuming fall semesters and halt offline sessions that have already started, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
Bus and subway services in the district were also reduced.
In Shenzhen, at least four districts with around nine million residents in total, have already ordered closure of entertainment and cultural businesses and halted or reduced restaurant dining for a few days.
China reported 1,675 new domestically transmitted Covid infections for August 30th, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday, compared with 1,717 new local cases a day earlier.
Most cases were found in the region of Tibet and the province of Sichuan.
The commercial hub of Shanghai would tighten control over large gatherings and avoid unnecessary ones, a municipality official said, as the city reported two new local infections on Tuesday, including one found in the community.
Large conferences and events involving travel across cities and regions must be downsized, delayed or moved online whenever possible, Wu Qianyu, a Shanghai health official, told a news briefing. — Reuters