Tension in Shanghai as surge in cases fuels fears of new lockdown

SHANGHAI • Tension is spreading through Shanghai as residents watch the Covid-19 caseload tick higher, fuelling fears that they are headed back into lockdown little more than five weeks after exiting a two-month ordeal.

The city reported 59 new cases for Monday, the fourth day in a row that case numbers have held above 50.

The sharp rise from single digits about a week ago follows the detection of the more contagious BA.5 sub-strain of the Omicron variant, which has triggered two additional rounds of mass testing this week across nine of the financial hub's 16 districts and other areas where cases have been found.

China's strict zero-Covid-19 approach is once again being tested as outbreaks flare across the country amid the arrival of a sub-variant that has fuelled rising caseloads elsewhere. Already, close to 30 million people nationwide are under some form of movement restrictions to quell transmission, but the authorities have so far steered clear of strict lockdowns in key economic regions.

China reported 347 cases for Monday. A cluster has emerged in Henan province, which recorded 73 cases. Just one of those infections led Wugang, a city in the steel-making region, to lock down for three days. The city's 320,000 people are not allowed to set foot outside their homes until tomorrow. Basic necessities are to be delivered by the local authorities.

For residents of Shanghai, a city of 25 million and where officials declared victory over the virus just last month, multiple rounds of testing and the lockdown of residential compounds are reviving difficult memories.

Stringent measures kept the population sealed inside their homes for much of April and May, as they struggled to reliably access food and medical care. This exacted an enormous economic toll and stirred some of the strongest anti-government sentiment in years.

Architect Maggie Xu, 40, is responding to the rising case numbers by getting organised. She has ordered 8kg of rice, 30 rolls of toilet paper, a large bottle of cooking oil and bags of salt and sugar.

During the last lockdown, she organised group purchases for residents at her compound in Shanghai's Pudong area - a key method of getting groceries as official deliveries dried up - and she has already had requests from neighbours to lock in some orders.

"While rational thinking tells me it's unlikely we will have another citywide lockdown as that will definitely cause social turmoil, fear is spreading among people including myself," she said.

An apartment block in eastern Shanghai was notified by the authorities on Sunday evening that it was going to be locked down after one resident tested positive during a business trip outside the city. The order sparked an outcry, said a resident, with people saying it would disrupt students preparing to sit high school entrance exams.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, some non-emergency services in public hospitals have been suspended as a surge in Covid-19 patients strains the healthcare system. The authorities warned that if the situation continues to worsen, more non-urgent surgical procedures and some day-time services will also be adjusted.

The city's Covid-19 resurgence has pushed the number of patients in public hospitals to about 1,000.

Health officials have warned that the daily number of cases could climb to as high as 6,000 in two weeks, from 2,558 new local cases reported yesterday, and 300 people hospitalised each day.

BLOOMBERG