China: Beijing, Shanghai return to lockdown as latest COVID surge 'ferocious & explosive'

With a surge in COVID-19 cases in Shanghai and now in Beijing, China is witnessing a massive outbreak in the two-year-long pandemic. The mainland's capital city is currently battling an unprecedented resurgence of coronavirus infections a week after resuming dine-in and other recreational services, sparking serious worries for health experts. On Sunday, Beijing National Health Commission noted a record rise in daily caseload -- from 138 to 196 in the latest "explosive" wave of infections in the capital city.

This came after Beijing reported a rapid community transmission among visitors of Chaoyang Heaven Supermarket Bar last week, the cases linked to the same cluster have skyrocketed ever since. According to Liu Xiaofeng from Beijing's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "The outbreak is ferocious, explosive and widespread in nature," as reported by the South China Morning Post. So far, at least 115 cases from the traced 6,000 contacts have tested positive for the virus, triggering serious anxiety over potential lockdowns for the city of 22 million.

Bars and salons seem to have become the "pandemic amplifiers." Just as Shanghai gradually began to witness a lower graph last week, on June 9 over 500 people tested positive. According to authorities, the virus cluster was traced to Red Rose salon- a premium beauty parlour in Shanghai that reopened on June 1. The individuals tested positive were from 15 districts across the city of 25 million people. 

Several parts of Beijing, Shanghai return to lockdown

Beijing and Shanghai, the two most important hubs of China, have been on COVID alert since Thursday after a sudden flare-up in cases led authorities to reimpose strict stay-at-home orders just two weeks after they were lifted. Two districts in Beijing and all entertainment centers in Shanghai were shut down, pushing at least 2 million back inside homes. 

The spike in cases was also reported in an entertainment-theme park outside Beijing - Universal Beijing Resort, forcing authorities to scrap its reopening plans. Meanwhile, in several districts of Beijing and Shanghai authorities have blocked off homes of quarantined residents with corrugated steel fences and other isolation methods, triggering widespread dissatisfaction and public anger. Meanwhile, for at least 15 or 16 districts in Shanghai,  Beijing has mandated rigorous COVID-19 testing for all residents over the weekend. A city official, as quoted by SCMP said, residents must complete at least one PCR test a week until July 31.

Apart from this, after several sporadic outbreaks throughout two years, the Inner Mongolian province of Erenhot has yet again become an epicenter of a fresh surge. The city reported 16 new local COVID-19 transmissions, pushing the total to 41 cases on Sunday, SCMP mentioned, citing China's National Health Commission. This led the city administration to reimpose a sweeping lockdown on several districts.

The situation in China under zero-COVID policy

China's situation under zero-COVID policy

Despite the successive outbreaks, the mainland's COVID infection rate remained much lower compared to global standards. Nevertheless, Chinese President Xi Jinping remained hellbent on sticking to his infamous 'zero-COVID policy' in order to completely eradicate the virus from the country. He has continued to undertake steps under the provisions of the controversial policy despite the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declaring it "non-sustainable."

He ordered strict adherence to the controversial zero-COVID policy and said would "punish'' anyone who opposes or questions it. Months of long lockdowns and subsequent COVID measures have led to an unprecedented job crisis, with employment rates falling to a critical low in two years. Extended lockdowns in China's financial hub have brought the world's largest economy to what Societe Generele analysts have described as "near breaking point." The manufacturing and service sectors of small-scale businesses were all intensely affected by the crippling COVID measures.

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