Covid 4th Wave: Shanghai Implements Stern Curbs Amid Surge In Cases | Top Points

China logged more than 70,000 domestic Covid-19 cases in March, the National Health Commission said, the largest number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

Covid Lockdown: Owing to a massive surge in the covid cases, China has locked down Shanghai to contain the spread of the virus. The omicron outbreak has caused the country’s biggest wave of disease since the virus was first detected in Wuhan in 2019. China logged more than 70,000 domestic Covid-19 cases in March, the National Health Commission said, the largest number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

“Epidemiologists said that such a rapid increase in cases in this short time frame indicates the difficulty of quashing this wave quickly and returning the country to a state of zero-Covid as has been the case with previous waves,” a report in the state-run Global Times said.

Top Updates:

• Authorities in Shanghai began locking down in some western areas two days ahead of schedule after the city reported a record 5,656 asymptomatic and 326 symptomatic Covid-19 cases for March 29.
• By 10 am on Wednesday, around 9.1 million residents had undergone nucleic acid testing in many areas of the city, including those on the east of the Huangpu River that are under lockdown
• Shanghai announced that starting Wednesday it will carry out a large-scale disinfection in key places for a month, including office buildings, construction sites, transport vehicles, farm markets, and residential communities
• The Chinese government is attempting to limit the economic blow of Shanghai’s lockdown on trade and business and has announced 21 measures to help enterprises affected by Covid-19 to cut losses.
• Residents who have been forced to quarantine in makeshift centres have complained about their condition. The camps are crowded with upto 2,500 beds grouped together in some, and with so many people in the same place, hygiene conditions have suffered.