The Chinese port metropolis of Shanghai has extended the corona lockdown for its 26 million inhabitants indefinitely. Referring to the rapid increase in infections, Vice Party leader Gu Honghui spoke to the press on Tuesday about a “race against time”. The mass tests on Monday, their verification and the transport of the infected to quarantine must first be completed before a decision is made on the further direction of the control measures. “The situation is very acute.”
In the worst corona wave in China for two years, the health commission in Beijing reported a record of more than 16,000 new infections. With more than 15,000, most cases are asymptomatic. In Shanghai alone, 268 diseases and more than 13,000 infections without symptoms were reported after the tests of the past few days – for the first time more than 10,000 in one day. The northeast Chinese province of Jilin is also badly affected, where there are also curfews and millions of people are being tested.
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Keystone/AP Photo/Chen Si
China is pursuing a strict zero-Covid strategy, which is being severely tested with Omicron and especially with the fast-spreading BA.2 variant. In China, anyone who is infected comes to a hospital or a quarantine facility that has been provisionally set up in Shanghai, including in gyms and exhibition halls and hotels. But they reach their limits. The city has had more than 70,000 infections since the beginning of March. More than 110,000 close contacts were also identified, which are monitored separately.
Actually, the curfews in western Shanghai should only run from Friday to Tuesday, but as before in the east and south, where the lockdown should go from Monday to Friday, people still have to stay at home. “The virus spread quickly and in a covert way,” said Vice Party leader Gu Honghui. “It’s a big challenge for the test capacities.” The authorities were working flat out to analyze the situation and make decisions about how to proceed.
The authorities are delivering food, but there are many complaints. The deputy party leader also acknowledged problems for the chronically ill or pregnant women to receive medical care. According to him, the difficulties are being addressed. According to press reports, around 40,000 medical workers from other regions have been transferred to Shanghai, including 2,000 military doctors.
It is the largest mobilization of medical staff in China since the outbreak of the pandemic in the metropolis of Wuhan, where the virus was first discovered at the end of 2019. Authorities in the most populous country have since dealt with outbreaks quite successfully with lockdowns, mass testing, quarantine, disruption of transport links and international lockdown. Life has been largely normal for the past two years. With the speed at which Omikron is spreading, however, the strict measures are working less and less well.