Despite the strict lockdown in Shanghai, the number of corona infections in the eastern Chinese port continues to rise. On Tuesday, 26,330 new infections were reported, the authorities announced on Wednesday. The great majority of cases are asymptomatic. Shanghai is at the center of the largest wave of coronavirus in China since the pandemic began more than two years ago, and has most of the nearly 28,000 cases across the country.
Despite announcing a gradual easing on Monday, the vast majority of the metropolis, which has a population of 26 million, is still affected by curfews. Most shops are still closed.
While curfews should be lifted in residential areas where there has been no contamination in the past two weeks, there have been calls from neighborhood commissions or property managers to warn residents not to leave their apartments or the housing complex. It is therefore unclear how many people will benefit from the relaxation at all.
Major problems due to lockdown
In the economic and financial center of China, there is growing outrage over insufficient food supplies, problems with medical care or the separation of infected children from their parents because of the quarantine. There are even starvation complaints from isolated residents and unconfirmed reports of deaths of patients unable to get to hospital quickly enough for treatment for illnesses other than Covid-19.
Omikron shakes strategy
The world’s most populous country has been following a strict zero-covid strategy with considerable success for the past two years, allowing life to largely resume its normal course. However, the strict methods such as curfews, mass testing, forced quarantine and isolation from abroad have lost their effectiveness due to the rapidly spreading omicron variant BA.2. In Shanghai, tens of thousands are housed in makeshift quarantine camps, sometimes under difficult conditions.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
