China is facing a resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks, with cities across the country reimposing restrictions as authorities rush to stamp out cases of the more contagious Omicron variant that has become dominant in the west.
Macau, which is suffering its worst Covid-19 outbreak to date, on Saturday announced a week-long closure of all non-essential businesses, including casinos, from Monday. Xi’an, a city of 13 million that has suffered severe lockdowns this year, went into a “circuit breaker” last week to get rid of the BA.5 sub-variant.
Eleven Chinese cities are already under full or partial lockdown, affecting 114.8 million people, or 8.1 percent of the population, according to data released last week by Japanese investment bank Nomura.
Analysts said the cycle of outbreaks, mass testing, lockdowns and easing will continue under President Xi Jinping’s strict zero-Covid policy, even as authorities try to implement more targeted measures such as shorter quarantines and limited lockdowns, according to an analysis by Goldman Sachs.
Casino Lisboa in Macau, owned by late gambling tycoon Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings, was temporarily sealed off on Tuesday with 500 people inside after being linked to a cluster of 13 cases. Hotels including Melco’s Grand Hyatt and Sands China’s Sheraton have been turned into quarantine facilities.
The cycle of restrictions also continues to weigh on the Chinese economy. Data released Saturday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that consumer prices rose 2.5 percent year-on-year in June due to higher energy and pork prices, up from 2.1 percent in May. Factory price growth cooled, rising 6.1 percent in June from a year earlier, the slowest pace in 15 months.
Shanghai orders mass testing campaign after cluster of more than 70 Covid cases linked to karaoke bar © Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Shanghai, China’s financial hub, is also struggling to contain cases just weeks after reopening after a two-month lockdown, with a mass testing campaign ordered after a cluster of more than 70 cases linked to a karaoke bar, according to local authorities.
Officials have begun assigning risk levels to sub-districts and even streets in an attempt to impose targeted quarantines on apartment complexes and spare most of the city’s 26 million residents. Only one new case was reported outside the lockdown on Saturday, while 59 cases were reported among people already in quarantine.
Even so, tensions remain high. One Shanghai resident, who asked not to be named, told the Financial Times she felt “disappointment” and “disappointment” at the return of restrictions. The resident, who works for an international company, endured the lockdown in March and April. “I personally think this is going to be the ‘new normal,'” she said.
Beijing was forced to scrap the vaccine mandate for public places after a popular backlash prompted authorities to lift the rule less than two days after it was announced last week.
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Nearly 90 percent of China’s 1.4 billion people have received two doses of the vaccine, according to state media, but the rate among the elderly is much lower. Homemade vaccines using inactivated virus technology are also less effective than mRNA injections made by companies such as BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna. Chinese authorities have not authorized foreign mRNA vaccines, and domestic mRNA candidates remain in the trial stage.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong warned of a two-fold jump in infections within weeks after registering more than 3,000 new cases on Thursday, the highest daily figure since April.
The increase came as local authorities said they were considering reopening the border with the mainland and easing mandatory quarantine for arrivals, which has stifled the city’s business community. Hong Kong this week also lifted a controversial flight ban mechanism that saw 100 flights banned this year.
Elsewhere in Asia, the number of cases has reached recent highs as countries eased entry restrictions in a bid to boost tourism and boost local economies.
Indonesia reported more than 2,800 cases on Thursday, the highest number in more than three months. The government said it would require tourists to have received a booster shot.
Singapore, which has received an influx of expatriates from regional rival Hong Kong, reported more than 12,000 cases on Tuesday, but authorities in the city-state played down the likelihood of new measures.
Additional reporting by Edward White in Wellington, Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong, John Reid in New Delhi and Oliver Telling in Singapore
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