Shanghai Economic Zone, home to 26 million people, is in the second day of a lockdown imposed by authorities dividing the city along the Huangpu River, separating the historic center from Pudong’s eastern economic and industrial district to allow escalating tests. . While Shanghai’s case load remains moderate by world standards – a record 4,381 asymptomatic cases and 96 accidental cases on Monday – the city has become a testing ground for China’s “zero COVID” strategy as it seeks to keep the Omicron variant. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Residents east of Huangpu were locked in their homes on Monday, but were mostly allowed to roam inside. On Tuesday, however, three residents told Reuters that neighborhood committees had told them they were no longer allowed to leave their homes. “The kids were still having a picnic yesterday and having fun,” said one of them, who declined to be named, citing privacy concerns. Wu Qianyu, a municipal health committee official, said in a statement that a “clear request” had been made to residents not to leave their apartments, or even take their pets for a walk or throw garbage during ” a key step in nuclear acid testing “. He said 8.26 million tests were performed by up to 17,000 inspectors in blocked areas of the city on Monday. “The huge number of medical staff, base staff, community workers and volunteers have shared the hard work at the forefront of preventing and controlling the epidemic, and we have to thank them,” Wu said. There have been growing signs of frustration on China’s social media, with dozens of residents flocking to the Weibo platform to seek help from relatives, with some having difficulty accessing medical services. Although China insists on its plan to quell the epidemic, experts abroad remain skeptical about the effectiveness of lockdowns in the face of a highly contagious new variant. “It’s clear from Australia and elsewhere that lockdowns are simply not effective against Omicron – so expect a big wave to come,” said Adrian Esterman, a biostatistics specialist at the University of South Australia. APPLICATION OF STOCKS Drone footage released by state media shows empty streets under skyscrapers in Lujiazui’s financial district. Public transport in the east has been closed and all unauthorized vehicles have been withdrawn from the roads. The Shanghai Stock Exchange, west of the city, said it had retained a personal skeleton in its stock market position for basic functions, while others worked from home. The General Motors (GM.N) consortium has managed to maintain production by asking workers to sleep on the factory floors, said people familiar with the matter. read more Residents in the west of the city are stockpiled in stores and markets pending their lockdown from April 1st. However, the US supermarket chain Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O), whose store in Shanghai has attracted a large number of buyers in recent days, said it would close on Tuesday, along with some gyms and malls also in the west. The city government has implemented new measures to try to support businesses affected by COVID-19, including rent exemptions and tax breaks. read more The Communist Party tabloid, the Global Times, quoted Peking University economist Cao Hepping as saying that while the city’s development would be hit, the national economy would not suffer much. Elsewhere, the northeastern city of Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province, has apologized to its 8.5 million residents for food shortages associated with the disruption caused by the curfew. read more The Shenzhen manufacturing hub is starting to get back on its feet after the shutdown, but many companies are worried about the short-term prospects, the Securities Times reported. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reports from Brenda Goh, Samuel Shen, Winni Zhou, Engen Tham, Eduardo Baptista, David Stanway and the Shanghai and Beijing newsrooms. Edited by: Kenneth Maxwell, Robert Birsel Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
