Covid-19 pandemic: China shuts tech hub, 17 million put in lockdown

China placed all 17 million residents in one of its biggest cities under lockdown on Sunday, as virus cases doubled nationwide to nearly 3,400 and anxiety mounted over the resilience of its ‘zero-Covid’ approach in the face of the worst outbreak in two years.

The southern tech hub of Shenzhen told all residents to stay at home as it struggles to eradicate an Omicron flare-up linked to the neighbouring virus-ravaged city of Hong Kong. The lockdown and a suspension of public transport will last until March 20, a city government notice said, adding that it would launch three rounds of mass testing.

The move extends an earlier lockdown imposed on the city’s central business district. The surge in infections across China has also prompted authorities to close schools in Shanghai and lock down multiple northeastern cities, as 18 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants.

China, where the virus was first detected in late 2019, has maintained a strict ‘zero-Covid’ policy enforced with swift lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing when clusters have emerged. But the latest flare-up, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant and a spike in asymptomatic cases, is testing the efficacy of that approach. 

Shanghai had been spared a citywide order to stay at home, but individual housing compounds were being locked down.

Hong Kong says about 300K under isolation

Bloomberg

About 300,000 people in Hong Kong are currently in isolation or under home quarantine because of Covid, Chief Executive Officer Carrie Lam said on Sunday. The city has boosted support for isolated people because of the high numbers and will start sending medical packages to Covid patients from Monday. The supplies will include pain and fever relief tablets and devices to measure oxygen rates.