Fourth wave scare: Shanghai continues to bear brunt of Covid-19 surge in China, adds 26,087 new cases

New Delhi: Shanghai continued to bear the brunt of the Covid-19 surge in China and added another 26,087 new cases, the official figures showed on Monday (April 11, 2022).

The city has become a testbed for China's elimination strategy, which seeks to test, trace and centrally quarantine all coronavirus positive people to control the spread of the virus.

Shanghai's case numbers are small compared to some cities globally, but it is battling China's worst Covid-19 outbreak since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan in 2019. 

Earlier on Sunday, the city had reported nearly 25,000 locally transmitted Covid-19 infections. Of the local cases reported on Sunday, 1,006 were symptomatic while 23,937 were classed as asymptomatic, which China counts separately.

Shanghai, a city of 26 million people, is currently under a tight lockdown, with many residents confined to their homes for up to three weeks as curbs under the city's "zero tolerance" policy allow only healthcare workers, volunteers, delivery personnel or those with special permission to go out.

The curbs have sharply squeezed supplies of food and other essentials as many supermarkets have been shut and thousands of couriers locked in. Several online videos have reportedly shown residents struggling with security personnel and hazmat-suited medical staff at some compounds in recent days, with occupants shouting that they need food.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing hub of Guangzhou has closed itself to most arrivals on Monday. No such lockdown has yet been announced for Guangzhou, a metropolis of 18 million that is home to many top companies and China's busiest airport. Just 27 cases were reported in the city on Monday. However, primary and middle schools have been switched to online after an initial 23 local infections were detected last week. 

China, notably, is still mostly closed to international travel, even as most of the world has sought ways to live with the virus.

(With agency inputs)

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