Covid-19 fourth wave scare: China reports 6,074 new cases, around 21 crore people in 26 cities still under lockdown

New Delhi: China recorded 6,074 new Covid-19 cases, including 384 symptomatic and 5,690 asymptomatic infections, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday (May 3, 2022). The new cases, however, were down from 7,822 a day earlier, of which 865 were symptomatic and 6,957 were asymptomatic.

There were also 20 new coronavirus-related deaths, all in the financial hub of Shanghai, where millions of the city's 26 million people are stuck indoors for more than a month now.

China, which is going through its worst phase of the pandemic, has so far had 2,17,836 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 5,112 fatalities.

The coronavirus, notably, had first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 and for two years, authorities had managed to keep outbreaks largely under control with lockdowns and travel bans. But the recent surge of the Omicron variant has now tested China's "zero-Covid-19" policy this year. While several other countries are relaxing their pandemic restrictions, the Chinese government has restricted travel, doing mass tests, and is setting up sprawling temporary facilities to try to isolate every infected person. 

According to a report, around 21 crore people in 26 cities are currently under full or partial lockdowns in China. Chinese officials, however, have repeatedly said that heavy-handed Covid-19 curbs, including prolonged lockdowns, are needed to save as many lives as possible and prevent the health system from being overwhelmed.

Cities under lockdowns contribute 22% of China's GDP

The Chinese cities, that are under full or partial lockdowns, reportedly contribute 22% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). China's GDP, which grew 4.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier, has weakened sharply in March, with a contraction in retail sales and the highest jobless rate since May 2020.

Beijing has ordered restaurants and gyms closed for the May Day national holiday that runs through Wednesday and has ordered another three rounds of testing for most of the city's 21 million people starting Tuesday, following a similar requirement last week. A negative test result obtained within the previous 48 hours is required to gain entry to most public spaces.

Authorities have closed schools and have imposed targeted lockdowns of buildings and neighborhoods to try to prevent the virus.

In Shanghai, officials are slowly beginning to ease lockdown restrictions. The city of 26 million has so far recorded about 4,00,000 Covid-19 cases in China's largest outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic.

China's April factory activity contracts at steeper pace as Covid-19 lockdowns bite

China's factory activity contracted at a steeper pace in April as widespread Covid-19 lockdowns halted industrial production and disrupted supply chains. With hundreds of millions stuck at home, consumption is taking a heavy hit, prompting more analysts to cut growth forecasts for the world's second-largest economy.

(With agency inputs)