Chinese cities double zero-COVID as outbreaks expand

• China reports third day of more than 1,000 new local cases
• Guangzhou, Wuhan and Xining are among the cities tightening COVID measures
• China has repeatedly promised to stick to zero tolerance policies

BEIJING, October 27 (Reuters) – From Wuhan in central China to Xining in the northwest, Chinese cities are doubling their COVID-19 sidewalks, closing buildings, locking areas and putting millions of people in a tight spot to stop the expanding epidemics.

On Thursday, China reported a third day in a row of more than 1,000 new COVID cases nationwide; That’s a modest number compared to the tens of thousands a day that put Shanghai on complete lockdown earlier this year, but enough to trigger more lockdowns across the country.

China’s coronavirus caseload has remained small by global standards, but this year’s ultra-strict and devastating containment measures against the highly contagious Omicron variant have weighed heavily on the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s fourth-largest city by economic output and the provincial capital, Guangdong, on Thursday closed more streets and neighborhoods and kept people in their homes as new areas were deemed high risk in a COVID resurgence that continued into its fourth week.

“Most of my friends and colleagues are in isolation at home,” said Lily Li, 28, who resides in Guangzhou.

“The situation is still unstable. Many places are under quarantine. Classes and entertainment venues are also suspended. The gym I frequented was also closed.”

According to Nomura, as of October 24, 28 cities were implementing varying degrees of quarantine measures, with about 207.7 million people in the regions responsible for about 25.6 trillion yuan ($3.55 trillion) of China’s gross domestic product.

This equates to about a quarter of China’s 2021 economic output.

Shares of the People’s Republic of China tumbled on Thursday as the pandemic and pessimistic data on an industrial sector battered by COVID took a toll on the mood.

wuhan troubles

Wuhan, the site of the world’s first COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019, reported around 20 to 25 new infections per day this week, prompting local authorities to order more than 800,000 people in one area to stay at home until Sunday.

“I don’t know what to do. If we can keep living this way, I guess that’s what we’re going to do,” said a 38-year-old Wuhan resident named Chang.

“We feel a little numb now when we see this news about COVID. We feel numb to all of them. We’re feeling more and more numb.”

Wuhan has also suspended the sale of pork in parts of the city, according to images and posts on social media, after a COVID case that officials said was linked to the local pork supply chain.

In Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, social media posts spoke of food shortages and rising prices for essential goods as health officials in the city of 2.5 million race to contain a COVID outbreak after a week-long National Day holiday in early October.

“Some vegetable and fruit stores have been closed and quarantined to reduce the risk of transmission,” a Xining government official said on Wednesday.

Other major cities in China, including Zhengzhou, Datong and Xian, introduced new restrictions this week to rein in local outbreaks.

In Beijing, the Universal Resort theme park closed Wednesday after a visitor tested positive for the coronavirus.

China has repeatedly promised to adhere to a zero-tolerance response to COVID-19 and to implement what officials say are necessary measures to contain the virus.

“When there’s a case somewhere and you’re in close contact afterwards, you should be in quarantine,” said Wen Bihan, a 26-year-old Beijing resident who has been quarantined in quarantine facilities twice before.

“Annoying.”

($1 = 7,2107 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting from Ryan Woo; Additional reports by Martin Quin Pollard and Shubing Wang in Beijing and Josh Ye in Hong Kong; Editors Edmund Klamann, Lincoln Feast and Tomasz Janowski

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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