Residents in these neighborhoods are prohibited from leaving their homes except for a Covid test, which they are required to undergo daily until Thursday. All businesses in the affected areas are closed until Thursday, except for supermarkets, pharmacies and hospitals. Restaurant meals have also been suspended, with only takeaways allowed. China is one of the last places in the world still enforcing strict zero-Covid measures, which rely on sweeping digital surveillance, mass testing, widespread quarantines and emergency lockdowns. On Tuesday, Shenzhen, an international tech hub of 18 million people, reported just 35 infections, including 11 asymptomatic cases. The heavy-handed approach has seen dozens of neighborhoods across Shenzhen identified as “high-risk areas” and placed under strict lockdown orders. Videos shared by residents on social media show metal barriers — some with barbed wire — placed outside residential buildings, preventing residents from leaving. Luohu and Longgang districts also closed all entertainment venues and public parks and banned gatherings from conferences and performances to square dances. Authorities also suspended service at 24 subway stations and hundreds of bus stations across Shenzhen, including the Huaqiangbei electronics market. At a press conference on Monday, Shenzhen officials said the outbreak was mainly caused by the new Omicron BF.15 subvariant, which, as they said, is more contagious and more difficult to detect. “The coming period will be the most stressful, high-risk and gloomy period for epidemic prevention and control in our city,” a Shenzhen official said at the press conference.
Epidemics throughout China
China’s zero-Covid strategy has faced increasing challenges from the highly infectious Omicron variant, with large areas of the country subject to rolling restrictions and daily testing. The endless restrictions have disrupted daily life and dealt a heavy blow to the slowing economy. In July, youth unemployment in China hit a record high, with one in five young people out of work. Earlier this month, outbreaks of Covid in the resort town of Hainan and the western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet stranded tens of thousands of tourists. In the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, authorities ordered mass Covid testing during a record heatwave, leaving millions of residents standing in the sun for hours as they battled extreme temperatures and power shortages. And this week, neighboring Sichuan province reported a resurgence of the virus. Chengdu, the capital of the province of 20 million people, detected 205 infections on Tuesday after authorities conducted mass testing across the city. The outbreak, which was first reported last Thursday, was linked to a swimming pool, authorities said. Amid fears of a prolonged citywide lockdown, Chengdu residents rushed to buy groceries and daily necessities at supermarkets. In Shijiazhuang, the capital of northern China’s Hebei province, authorities suspended public transport across the city over the weekend after 30 infections were detected during mass testing. The city is home to 11 million people. In the northern port of Tianjin, 20 infections were reported after citywide tests on Friday.
