China’s Covid-19 outbreak worst since May as lockdowns persist

People line up to get tested for Covid-19 at a nucleic acid testing site in Shanghai, China, on Nov 3, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING – China’s daily local Covid-19 infection rate soared to its highest level since early May, with lockdowns sweeping across the nation.

There were 3,800 new cases reported for Thursday, a 22 per cent jump from the day before and the highest since the country emerged from its biggest outbreak in the spring, according to the National Health Commission.

A flare-up in southern factory hub Guangzhou continues to accelerate after at least one district in the city halted in-person schooling and dining in, with 572 domestic infections reported on Friday.

Countrywide, China reported 4,045 new Covid-19 infections on Nov 3, of which 757 were symptomatic and 3,288 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday.

A growing number of outbreaks have emerged despite the stealth shutdowns and targeted restrictions enacted in multiple regions as China continues to adhere to a Covid-Zero policy.

A top health official’s speech this week signalled no planned shift away from the zero-tolerance approach favoured by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which includes tight border restrictions, mass testing and lockdowns whenever there is a flare-up. 

Inner Mongolia, which detected 764 infections, accounts for the highest number of cases currently among China’s provinces. Restrictions are in place for most of the north-west region, where outbreaks are hard to stamp out in the vast remote area.

Most parts of Xinjiang have been locked down for more than 80 days, with signs on social media that local residents are becoming increasingly desperate about the indefinite home quarantine.

Zhengzhou, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, locked down the zone around the Foxconn Technology Group’s facility on Wednesday after an outcry about an on-site outbreak.

Scores of workers were seen fleeing the plant on foot to escape the “closed loop” system that has paralysed daily life. 

Production at the Foxconn plant is essentially back to normal, local officials said at a municipal press conference late on Thursday. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS

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