Beijing (awp / afp) – China recorded its highest number of Covid-19 cases since May on Saturday and millions of people across the country were spending the weekend in confinement under the strict “zero Covid” policy.
China is the last major country in the world to pursue the goal of eliminating the epidemic through lockdowns, long quarantines and mass testing, even though this strategy has a heavy impact on the economy.
A total of 450 cases of Covid-19, mostly asymptomatic, were registered nationally on Saturday, against 432 the day before, according to authorities.
This increase in cases this week led to the adoption of new restrictions in several parts of the country.
Lanzhou, the capital of northwestern Gansu province, on Wednesday ordered its 4.4 million residents to stay at home. One of the counties in Anhui Province (east) has been in lockdown since Friday.
Earlier in the week, a general lockdown was imposed on Wugang, a major steel center in central Henan Province, after a single case of Covid-19 was discovered.
In Beihai, in the province of Guangxi (south), the authorities announced on Saturday partial confinements in two districts with more than 800,000 inhabitants.
“Currently, the epidemic prevention and control situation in Beihai City is serious and complicated, and the risk of creeping transmission in the community is relatively high,” said a government notice announcing the restrictions.
The faster-spreading Omicron variant poses a major challenge to China’s “zero Covid” policy.
The country saw its economic growth collapse in the second quarter to sign its worst performance since 2020, due in particular to health restrictions.
afp/rp