Shenzhen locked down as virus spreads

China's technology hub of Shenzhen is under a citywide lockdown, while Shanghai has closed schools and advised against non-essential travel, as Covid-19 cases emerged in many parts of the country.

China's total new daily cases almost doubled to 3,400 on Saturday. Netizens went on social media to question whether its tough zero Covid-19 strategy should be loosened, given that the Omicron variant is less fatal than earlier variants of the coronavirus.

Jilin province has been the hardest hit, with 1,412 local cases on Saturday.