Parts of China extend lockdowns and testing amid spread of omicron variant of COVID-19

Major Chinese cities, including Shanghai, have instituted mass testing sites and are extending lockdown mandates amid rising COVID-19 cases.

The Chinese government reported about 390 daily infections over a 7-day period ending Sunday, according to Reuters calculations using official data on Monday. These new figures showed an increase in the number of infections, compared to 340 cases in the previous 7-day period.

Shanghai reported more than a dozen new cases on Monday, none of which came from outside a quarantine zone.

Shanghai is still recovering from its nearly two-month lockdown in the spring following a spike in COVID-19 cases that forced its 24 million people to stay indoors for most of the lockdown. The result proved to be a blow to the country’s economy. The re-emerging lockdown restrictions are now causing concern across the internet.

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« I am speechless, » a Shanghai resident told Reuters. « It feels like a waste of resources that doesn’t solve the real problem. »

The recent outbreak has been linked to a karaoke lounge that opened during the lockdown without permission and failed to implement prevention measures among its employees and customers, the city’s culture and tourism department said. city, according to the Associated Press.

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« The virus is spreading rapidly because these entertainment venues are mostly covered and closed, with frequent movement of people, high concentrations of people and inadequate personal protective measures, » director Zhao Dandan told the AP. Deputy of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a staff member wearing masks works in a workshop at an industrial park in Qingpu district in east China’s Shanghai, May 17, 2022.
((Zhao Yihe/Xinhua via AP))

Northern cities including Lanzhou and Tianjin have also launched mass testing sites and lockdown measures, varying according to each city’s case count. Beijing, another of China’s major cities, found two cases on Monday after a week of zero infections. All infected buildings have been cordoned off.

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Reuters contributed to this report.