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Shanghai (AFP) – Tens of millions of people were confined in China on Wednesday July 6 due to a spike in Covid-19 infections, raising fears in Shanghai of the return of draconian restrictions.
China’s largest city was confined for two months in the spring and the strict conditions imposed exasperated some of its 25 million inhabitants.
Since June 1, most restrictions have been lifted, but some neighborhoods remain temporarily closed after the detection of some cases.
But there has been a surge in infections since the weekend, with Shanghai reporting 24 new cases on Wednesday.
Authorities launched a new round of mass testing in half of Shanghai’s districts and closed karaoke bars on Wednesday after detecting some infections originating from these establishments.
Five weeks after the lifting of the confinement, a part of the inhabitants fear that the restrictions will return.
“I don’t really want to do it, it’s useless,” Alice Chan, an inhabitant who finally resigned herself for fear of losing her health certificate, told AFP.
“People are no longer afraid of Covid, they are afraid of being locked up at home,” said Yao, a resident of Shanghai who did not want to give his last name.
Some residents reported Tuesday on social networks that they received food rations from the government, as happened months ago.
“Let me tell you a scary story: Putuo district is sending vegetables again,” a resident posted on the WeChat network.
The ‘zero Covid’ policy, put to the test
The Health Ministry reported 300 new cases on Wednesday across the country.
The main affected area is Anhui province (east), where 1.7 million inhabitants of two rural cantons are currently confined.
More than a thousand cases have been registered since last week, with infections currently reaching the province of Jiangsu (east), bordering Shanghai and a heavy manufacturing region.
The large city of Xi’an (north), with 13 million inhabitants, was placed under “temporary control measures” after detecting 29 infections since Saturday.
Once the imperial capital, Xi’an is known throughout the world for its famous “terracotta warriors” of China’s first emperor.
Public entertainment venues, including pubs, internet cafes and karaoke bars, were closed from midnight on Wednesday, the local government said.
State media showed footage of Xi’an residents queuing for tests after midnight on Tuesday, as authorities insist the city is not on lockdown.
The outbreak in the city is attributed to the BA.5.2 subvariant of Omicron, which is more transmissible and eludes immunity.
This subvariant was also detected in Beijing, although the authorities considered on Wednesday that the epidemic is “under control”.
The capital, however, reinforced the sanitary measures: as of July 11, libraries, museums and cinemas will only be accessible to vaccinated people.
The rebound is a challenge for President Xi Jinping, who last week reaffirmed his commitment to China’s “zero Covid” policy.
But its impact on economic activity is very high and many companies close or idle.
The Omicron variant remains a “problem of great importance to the Chinese economy,” warns economist Ting Lu of Nomura bank.
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