Key Takeaways:

• The official journal of the Chinese Communist Party backed President Xi Jinping's rigorous Covid Zero policy, arguing that it is necessary for saving lives and preserving the economy.

As China experiences its largest coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak since the pandemic began, the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper supported President Xi Jinping's strict Covid Zero policy, claiming that it is critical to save lives and maintaining the economy. The highly transmissible omicron version "has made it more difficult to locate the virus and halt the pandemic," according to a front-page commentary in the People's Daily.

"The more this is the case, the further we should adhere to the general policy of 'dynamic zero' without hesitation or wavering," it continued, referring to Beijing's terminology for the country's viral strategy.

Shanghai, China's financial and commercial centre, has been shut down for more than a week as authorities strive to limit the virus through mass testing and isolation, which is proving ineffective against the highly transmissible varieties. By converting convention centres and conscripting neighbouring provinces to establish isolation units, the Chinese financial metropolis is adding tens of thousands of beds.

In a troubling surge, Shanghai recorded 21,222 new Covid cases on Thursday, up from just over 9,000 cases on Sunday.

Omicron caused Covid waves in several parts of the world, but countries avoided taking drastic steps because the number of fatalities was modest.

The People's Daily argued that the Covid Zero policy against the new variants "can not only reduce the harm of the epidemic to people's health as well as life safety, but also balance the relationship among social and economic development and epidemic prevention and control to the greatest extent possible."

According to the publication, the programme is aimed to "get the most preventative and control effect at the lowest expense."

According to Bloomberg, the lockdown has resulted in food and pharmaceutical shortages, fueling residents' dissatisfaction with China's Covid containment approach.