As we approach the end of the toughest three months for China in two years with regard to Covid infections, the country’s struggle to contain Omicron shows no sign of improving, despite official media trumpeting a fall in cases where people with the virus are exhibiting symptoms.
Economists wonder if the two surveys of manufacturing and service sector activity, due late this week will show the impact the growing number of cases from early March.
There have been more reports of companies and factories isolating themselves via physical methods such as tents and other ways (so-called bubbles) to keep going in the face of infections.
Bloomberg reported early Monday that Tesla will close its big Shanghai car factory for at least one day today because of the latest outbreak. Other foreign companies such as Apple and its assembler, FoxConn were forced to close and switch production in the Shenzhen lockdown two weeks ago which still hasn’t been eliminated.
More than 40 million people in two major cities – the largest, Shanghai and the largest port city of Tianjin in northern China (its the port for Beijing) – will have been tested from Saturday to early Monday morning as the local and national government struggle to control the outbreaks.
In major changes the government decided Saturday not to lock down Shanghai and its near 27 million people because it is too big and too important to the national economy. Official media reports say 14 million people have already been tested in the city and more are being tested.
Tianjin – which is where the Covid Omicron BA.2 variant was first detected in China last November, has had 13 million of its 15 million people tested, but while residents have been told to stay indoors and not to move around, there has been no official lock down order issued.
Tianjin underwent a partial lockdown in late January but that has failed to reduce case numbers to zero, as President Xi’s policy has claimed it would. isolated cases continue until late last week when mass screening test were again ordered.
As well millions of Rapid Antigen Tests are being handed out in both cities and surrounding areas as the virus shows no sign of being controlled, especially in Tianjin where cases of Covid Delta were reported off and on through 2021 and more consistently since the start of this year.
The infections in both cities also undermine the official Chinese claim to have gotten the virus under control.
Nationally, China reported 1,353 cases on Friday. Shanghai reported 38 confirmed cases on Friday, along with 2,231 asymptomatic cases (which are not official infections, unlike in most other countries). It means that with so many asymptomatic cases being picked up in testing compared to cases where symptoms are showing, there must be many, many more cases going undetected.
The Shanghai government told a press conference on Friday that the city has been facing a tough fight against the Omicron variant.
“Shanghai can’t be locked down as it’s not only the city of local residents but also an important player in China’s and the world’s economy, local authority said on Saturday, and the metropolis has decided to try out the combination of nucleic acid testing and antigen self-testing as a new way of COVID-19 prevention and control,” the state-owned Global Times tabloid reported.
That is another significant change away from the zero-elimination policy of President Xi Jinping. Previously that would have required Shanghai to have been locked down and isolated from the rest of the country but it is too important commercial and morally for that to happen.
“Tianjin, which neighbours Beijing and has a population of 13 million, began citywide nuclide acid (PCR) testing Sunday morning, according to local authorities. All the residents are advised not to leave their communities.
RAT packages are being issued in Tianjin as well.
The major steelmaking hub, Tangshan is still under tight controls as the central and local governments try to control an outbreak that saw the restrictions introduced a week ago.
The state-owned Xinhua newsagency reported on Sunday that of the new 1,217 local infections on Sunday, 1,071 were reported in the province of Jilin (still a hot spot), 47 in Shanghai, 28 in Liaoning, 16 in Tianjin, 14 in Henan and 10 in Hebei.
A total of 37 imported COVID-19 cases were reported Saturday.
Saturday also saw the reporting of 4,448 asymptomatic cases, including 4,333 local ones, meaning the total local infections on Saturday were 5,550 which is worse look compared to the number of cases with noticeable symptoms.
