This city is now largest Covid hotspot in China
Key Takeaways:
- According to Bloomberg, Shanghai has surpassed the north-eastern province of Jilin as China's largest Covid-19 hotspot.
- On Wednesday, Shanghai infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong advocated for a balance of anti-virus measures and maintaining a "normal life."
- ACCORDING TO THE WHO, the BA.2 sub-variant responsible for the outbreaks in China, Hong Kong, Europe, and the United States is highly infectious.
According to Bloomberg, Shanghai has surpassed the north-eastern province of Jilin as China's largest Covid-19 hotspot, after the financial hub on the country's eastern coast reported 2,676 new cases on Saturday, up 18% from the day before.
Cases in the 26-million-strong city have risen sharply in the last three days, from 1,609 on Thursday to 2,267 on Friday, prompting strict rolling lockdowns of infected neighborhoods and apartment blocks.
Due to Shanghai's role as a global shipping hub, authorities have ruled out a full city-wide lockdown for fear of 'impacting the global economy.' However, there are restrictions in place, including the requirement of negative Covid tests for the general public.
City officials have also had to cope with the death of a nurse who needed asthma treatment but couldn't get it because the hospital where she worked was closed.
Shanghai (and Jilin province) highlights the difficulties officials face in carrying out President Xi Jinping's order to eradicate the virus and minimize the country's 'Covid Zero' strategy's economic and social consequences.
Through strict measures, China had largely kept the virus under control. However, the government's top-down approach is being questioned as it attempts to balance controlling the virus and the economic and psychological consequences of restrictions.
Shanghai infectious disease specialist Zhang Wenhong called for a balance of anti-virus measures and maintaining a 'normal life' on Wednesday.
However, the softer approach has failed to prevent cases, and localized lockdowns have sparked outrage online as well as a grocery shortage in some areas.
The new wave of cases, which experts believe is caused by the omicron variant's BA.2 sub-type, has hit China's Jilin province and Shanghai the hardest.
According to some estimates, the number of active cases in Jilin has risen to over 2,000, with a seven-day average of new cases hovering around 1,500.
Jilin, which borders Russia and North Korea and has around 24 million people, has reported China's first Covid deaths in over a year.
According to the WHO, the BA.2 sub-variant responsible for the spikes in China, Hong Kong, Europe, and the United States is highly infectious.
On Friday, China reported 4,790 new cases and 5,600 on Saturday; these figures do not include those from Hong Kong, which keeps track of Covid cases separately.