Shanghai is grappling with a ballooning covid outbreak that threatens its growth targets and global supply chains.Of
Shanghai is grappling with a ballooning covid outbreak that threatens its growth targets and global supply chains.
Of the record 8655 cases reported today, 5982 were reported among Shanghai’s 25 million residents. Authorities will start a two-phase lockdown that is a U-turn from previously rejecting a lockdown.
At the time of the initial announcement, markets cheered the moves to keep factories open but now that decision is looking less wise. Coupled with that, a editorial in Xinhua today reaffirmed China’s commitment to “dynamic zero-covid” and said Xi had personally drawn up the policy and led the fight.
“Ever since epidemic prevention and control became the norm, General
Secretary Xi Jinping has personally directed the deployment of epidemic
prevention and control work, and established the general strategy to
prevent imported cases and internal rebounds and the general policy of
dynamic zero-Covid,” the editorial said.
It will be tough for him to pivot but the odds are increasing of a Hong Kong-like outcome where the virus explodes and causes a huge jump in fatalities. If it’s not now in Hong Kong, other cases throughout the country are sure to create more outbreaks. The bulk of the remainder of the cases are in Jilin provice, where two cities have been under lockdown for two weeks.
The silver lining is that after a brutal two months, cases are now rapidly declining in Hong Kong. The latest reading was just under 7600 from a peak of over 50,000 early this month.
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