Economic activities have come to a halt; military deployed to help tackle situation
Distressing news of strict lockdowns and record spike in COVID-19 cases have been emerging out of Shanghai, China’s biggest city and an important financial hub for the world.
Around 26 million residents of the port city have been cooped up in their homes for over a week, as it recorded its highest daily case growth April 5, 2022 (13,354) since the beginning of the pandemic, according to South China Morning Post.
The record number of cases came after a city-wide COVID-19 testing drive was launched April 3, 2022.
The country has sent the armed forces to Shanghai to help the city tackle the massive outbreak, news agencies reported.
China sends more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. https://t.co/sHKmhcEOee
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 4, 2022
The pandemic was relatively contained in the city, till infections began to increase in December 2021, according to Johns Hopkins University. The surge was largely driven by the omicron variant, according to the government.
On April 4, 2022, the city recorded 13,086 fresh asymptomatic and 268 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to Xinhua, the country’s official news agency.
Across China, 15,355 asymptomatic infections were recorded, of which 15,239 were local, Xinhua reported.
The city entered the second week of its most extensive lockdown amid the pandemic. Horrific scenes of children being separated from their parents and sent to COVID-19 facilities went viral on social media.
Economic activities have come to a grinding halt and offices of multinational corporations as well as small companies remain shuttered — a devastating blow for the rebouncing global economy.
There is no end in sight for the citywide lockdown, international news agency Reuters tweeted April 5. The Shanghai Stock Exchange, which had a market capitalisation of over $7 trillion last year, is a major global exchange.
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