The figures seem modest compared to the balance sheets recorded elsewhere in the world, but they are almost unprecedented in China. The country reported on Tuesday 5,280 cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hoursthe highest tally since the very first epidemic wave at the beginning of 2020. China, where the coronavirus was first detected at the end of 2019, had managed to largely contain the epidemic by resorting to strict measures of prevention. containment from the beginning of 2020, but with the Omicron strain numerous outbreaks have appeared throughout the country in recent months.
Authorities who take the threat very seriously have already placed many cities, even entire regions, under quarantine. According to an AFP count, nearly 30 million inhabitants are now confined to their homes, especially in the technological metropolis of Shenzhen (south), at the gates of Hong Kong. These measures have led to the closure of many factories, including those of the Taiwanese giant Foxconn, Apple’s main supplier, in the megalopolis of 17 million inhabitants. Those economic disruption, likely to further affect global supply chains, caused the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to fall by nearly 5% on Monday, which plunged again by more than 3% on Tuesday at the opening. Technology stocks are the most penalized.
Nine cases in Shanghai
“So far, the ports of Shenzhen and Shanghai continue to operate normally. But a quarantine of these ports would exacerbate global supply problems, on top of the disruptions already caused by the Russia-Ukraine war,” said economist Tommy Wu, from Oxford Economics, interviewed by AFP.
But the resurgence of the epidemic is first and foremost at the other end of the vast country: Tuesday’s figures were greatly weighed down by the toll of Jilin province (northeast), bordering North Korea, a country which has escaped the Covid according to his authorities. More than 3,000 infections have been recorded in Jilin alone in the past 24 hours.
Shanghai, the country’s largest city, reported just nine new cases on Tuesday but authorities have locked down many neighborhoods and residents fear widespread quarantine.
Many domestic flights were canceled Tuesday morning at Shanghai airport, as well as in Beijing, the capital which announced only six new cases.