Shanghai: Chinese authorities ramp up testing Shanghai and other megacities as COVID infections rise again, with the extension of quarantine times and the closure of some public places where the virus can spread.
Local infections rose to their highest level since August this week, and coincided with an increase in domestic travel during the National Day “Golden Week” holiday earlier this month.
Shanghai, a city of 25 million people, reported 10 new local cases for October 28, officials said on Tuesday, a fourth day of double-digit growth.
Nationwide, 2,089 new local infections were recorded, the highest since August 20.
While the majority of cases have been found in tourist destinations, including sightseeing in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, megacities that are often a source of well-heeled and well-travelled tourists began reporting more cases this week. done.
Shanghai, eager to avoid a reoccurrence of economically disastrous and mentally crippling lockdowns in April and May, said late on Monday that all 16 of its districts would be forced to close their residents at least twice a week until November 10. But regular testing was to be done. This is a step. From the present once a week, the arrangement imposed after the earlier lockdown was removed.
Municipal officials said that screening of people traveling to places like Shanghai and hotels should also be strengthened.
The growing web of COVID preventive measures has already caught some people.
Peter LeeA longtime British expat, was out for lunch with his wife and seven-year-old son last week when he was suddenly informed that their apartment block was to be closed for 48 hours.
Lee and his son checked in at a hotel, which was then still closed due to prior travel by a virus carrier. Lee’s wife, who was planning to join him, had no choice but to remain locked in the house, and then her lockdown was extended.
The father and son are due to be released on Thursday, while Lee’s wife will not be released until Sunday.
“It could be that we say, we miss home and we miss mom a lot and maybe we go home and just deal with it, but we also lose another weekend,” Lee told Reuters. told.
“We’re monitoring the situation because it looks like Shanghai is slowly closing in anyway and it won’t be much use to be able to come and go if everything starts to shut down.”
Despite a much smaller caseload than the rest of the world, and its strict counter-pandemic policies to be exact on the Chinese economy and its population, the government has repeatedly urged people to accept the measures.
“We should be consciously aware that ours is a large country with a population of over 1.4 billion, with unbalanced regional development and inadequate medical resources,” the state-controlled People’s Daily wrote in a commentary on Tuesday.
“Once there is a massive rebound, the epidemic will spread, and there will be a serious impact on economic and social development, and the final price will be high and the loss will be high.”
Latest covid restrictions come once every five years Communist Party The Congress begins on October 16, where Xi Jinping is widely expected to extend his decade-long leadership for another five years.
Local infections rose to their highest level since August this week, and coincided with an increase in domestic travel during the National Day “Golden Week” holiday earlier this month.
Shanghai, a city of 25 million people, reported 10 new local cases for October 28, officials said on Tuesday, a fourth day of double-digit growth.
Nationwide, 2,089 new local infections were recorded, the highest since August 20.
While the majority of cases have been found in tourist destinations, including sightseeing in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, megacities that are often a source of well-heeled and well-travelled tourists began reporting more cases this week. done.
Shanghai, eager to avoid a reoccurrence of economically disastrous and mentally crippling lockdowns in April and May, said late on Monday that all 16 of its districts would be forced to close their residents at least twice a week until November 10. But regular testing was to be done. This is a step. From the present once a week, the arrangement imposed after the earlier lockdown was removed.
Municipal officials said that screening of people traveling to places like Shanghai and hotels should also be strengthened.
The growing web of COVID preventive measures has already caught some people.
Peter LeeA longtime British expat, was out for lunch with his wife and seven-year-old son last week when he was suddenly informed that their apartment block was to be closed for 48 hours.
Lee and his son checked in at a hotel, which was then still closed due to prior travel by a virus carrier. Lee’s wife, who was planning to join him, had no choice but to remain locked in the house, and then her lockdown was extended.
The father and son are due to be released on Thursday, while Lee’s wife will not be released until Sunday.
“It could be that we say, we miss home and we miss mom a lot and maybe we go home and just deal with it, but we also lose another weekend,” Lee told Reuters. told.
“We’re monitoring the situation because it looks like Shanghai is slowly closing in anyway and it won’t be much use to be able to come and go if everything starts to shut down.”
Despite a much smaller caseload than the rest of the world, and its strict counter-pandemic policies to be exact on the Chinese economy and its population, the government has repeatedly urged people to accept the measures.
“We should be consciously aware that ours is a large country with a population of over 1.4 billion, with unbalanced regional development and inadequate medical resources,” the state-controlled People’s Daily wrote in a commentary on Tuesday.
“Once there is a massive rebound, the epidemic will spread, and there will be a serious impact on economic and social development, and the final price will be high and the loss will be high.”
Latest covid restrictions come once every five years Communist Party The Congress begins on October 16, where Xi Jinping is widely expected to extend his decade-long leadership for another five years.