45 million under a lockdown, China Covid tally doubles: Report

A Shanghai pedestrian swarmed by hazmat-clad health officials, police tape wrapped around entire blocks, and panic buying at a Shenzhen shopping centre: China is returning to virus controls many hoped it had long left behind. The country is facing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the first wave of the pandemic emerged in Wuhan in late 2019. 

While the daily caseload is comparatively small, around 5,300 were recorded on Tuesday, the Omicron variant is shaking Beijing’s “zero-Covid” strategy — and that means the return of mass testing and tough restrictions on movement. The government is looking to stem an outbreak that has