Coronavirus: Shanghai reports record 3,590 symptomatic cases as China’s largest economy buckles under lockdown
- Shanghai reported 3,590 symptomatic cases on Saturday, out of 23,513 infections
- China’s financial and commercial centre is still locked down as it grapples with skyrocketing case counts, which number about 326,000 since March 1
Shanghai reported a record 3,590 symptomatic cases on Saturday, as China’s financial capital remains under lockdown amid the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic.
The number of symptomatic cases climbed 12.2 per cent, with new infections reaching 23,513, according to data covering the previous 24 hours released on Saturday. That brings total infections since March 1 to about 326,000.
Among the new cases, 13 were classified as “severe”, with the youngest being a 33-year-old, according to officials at an online press conference. The other severe cases were unvaccinated people aged 70 to 93 years old. No one has died from the disease yet in the current outbreak.
The continued rise of infections in the city has upended tens of thousands of businesses and the daily lives of the city’s 25 million residents. As the largest contributor to China’s annual gross domestic product, Shanghai is proving the biggest test yet for the country’s zero-Covid policy.
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Shanghai, the epicentre of China’s latest coronavirus outbreak, went into a citywide lockdown on April 5, reversing an earlier plan for a two-phase quarantine for both sides of the Huangpu River – Pudong and Puxi – which was expected to end that day.
Daily new infections have continued to surge since the full lockdown. The city’s single-day caseloads reached new all-time highs 12 times over the past 14 days, staying above 20,000.
The lockdown has led to severe shortages of food and other essential supplies, as delivery services have been hard-hit by quarantines of delivery personnel and business closures. Strict Covid-19 rules have also stymied last-mile delivery, preventing goods from getting to buyers’ homes.
The government has relaxed some rules to allow delivery workers to get back to work, Liu said, noting that 18,000 workers deliver around 1.8 million orders each day.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the latest outbreak in Shanghai have surpassed the total number seen in the city in the prior two years, tarnishing its previous success at keeping the disease at bay.
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Police in Shanghai scuffle with residents over Covid-19 quarantine measures
Nationwide, China recorded 3,867 symptomatic cases on Saturday and 20,895 asymptomatic infections transmitted locally. Southern Guangdong province, neighbouring Hong Kong, added 37 infections. Northeastern Jilin province, which borders North Korea, recorded 632 new cases.
China’s central government has emphasised its determination to stick with a “dynamic zero” Covid-19 strategy to contain the virus. As many as 73 of China’s top 100 cities are under some form of lockdown.
Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed the government’s zero-tolerance approach to the public health crisis on Wednesday, but said the country should minimise the economic and social impact.
Shanghai’s automotive industry has been especially hard-hit, as production lines and component makers were forced to halt operations. That led He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of the electric car brand Xpeng, to warn of risks that vehicle assemblers will face in May if vendors in Shanghai and neighbouring areas cannot restart operations.
As China’s car manufacturing capital, Shanghai churned out 2.83 million vehicles in 2021, or 10.7 per cent of national output in the world’s largest vehicle market.
