Tens of millions of people were under lockdown in China on Wednesday as businesses in a major tourist city were forced to shut their doors and fresh clusters sparked fears of a return to blanket restrictions.

Health authorities reported over 300 infections Wednesday, with clusters found in the historic northern city of Xi'an -- home to the Terracotta Army -- as well as the country's biggest city Shanghai.

The fresh cases and the official response to them have deepened fears that China may be set to return to the kinds of strict restrictions seen earlier this year, when Beijing's hardline zero-Covid policy saw tens of millions locked down for weeks on end.

In Shanghai, some residents on social media Tuesday reported receiving government food rations -- a throwback to the month's long confinement in the spring.

"Let me tell you a scary story, Putuo district is sending out vegetables again," read one resident's viral WeChat post.

"I'm so nervous, the epidemic has destroyed my youth. I'm about to go crazy," posted another Shanghai-based Weibo user.

Officials launched a new round of mass testing in over half of the city's districts after a rebound in cases since the weekend, closing all karaoke bars Wednesday after some infections were linked to six such venues.

And Xi'an -- a historic city of 13 million that endured a month-long lockdown at the end of last year -- was placed back under "temporary control measures" after 29 infections were found, mostly among waste recycling workers, since Saturday.

Public entertainment venues including pubs, internet cafes and karaoke bars would shut their doors from midnight on Wednesday, the city government said in a notice.

State media showed images of Xi'an residents queueing up for tests past midnight Tuesday, while stressing the city was not in lockdown.

Officials have blamed the city's outbreak on the BA.5.2 sublineage of the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible and immune evasive.

"The positive infections are all the BA.5.2 branch of the Omicron variant, and epidemiological tracing work is still in full swing," Xi'an health official Ma Chaofeng said at a briefing.

The fresh outbreaks pose a renewed challenge to President Xi Jinping, who last week reaffirmed his commitment to zero Covid despite the mounting economic cost.

Japanese bank Nomura has estimated that at least 114.8 million people are under full or partial lockdowns nationwide as of Monday, a sharp jump from last week's 66.7 million.

More than 1,000 infections have been reported since last week in central Anhui province, with dozens spilling over to Jiangsu province neighbouring Shanghai, threatening the core Yangtze Delta manufacturing region.

Chinese city of 13 million shuts down again to avoid Covid 'explosion'
Beijing (AFP) July 5, 2022 - Businesses, schools and restaurants in Xi'an will close for one week, officials said Tuesday, after the Chinese city logged a handful of Covid-19 cases as outbreaks nationwide strain Beijing's zero-tolerance virus approach.

China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid strategy, deploying snap lockdowns, quarantines and travel curbs in a bid to weed out new infections.

Xi'an -- a historic city of 13 million that endured a month-long lockdown at the end of last year -- has reported 18 cases since Saturday in a cluster driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, according to official notices.

City official Zhang Xuedong said at a Tuesday press conference that Xi'an would implement "seven-day temporary control measures" that would "allow society to quieten down as much as possible, reduce mobility... and cut the risk of cross-infection".

"We must race against both time and the virus... to guard against all possible risks and hidden dangers, and decisively avoid an explosion in community spreading," Zhang said.

Public entertainment venues including pubs, internet cafes and karaoke bars would shut their doors from midnight on Wednesday, the city government said in a notice.

Restaurants will not be allowed to serve diners indoors but may continue to offer takeaway services, it said.

Schools are to start the summer holiday early and universities will seal off their campuses.

Xi'an -- home to the Terracotta Warriors -- previously experienced one of China's longest stay-at-home orders, shutting off for a month between December and January as thousands of Covid cases were detected.

City authorities came under fire for their handling of the lockdown, which was plagued by food supply issues and medical tragedies stemming from patients being denied access to hospitals.

Some residents in the tourist city expressed dismay at the closures on social media Tuesday.

"It's like they're addicted to lockdowns. What else do they even do?" wrote one on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.

"Here we go again," complained another.

China logged 335 new domestic cases on Tuesday, most of which were asymptomatic, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

China's latest significant flare-up is in central Anhui province, where 1.7 million people in two counties were under orders to stay at home as of Tuesday.

Around 90 percent of the nearly 300 infections reported in the province on Monday were asymptomatic, according to the NHC. Over 1,000 cases have been detected during the outbreak so far.

Separately, city officials in Shanghai have launched a new round of mandatory Covid testing in most districts after "successively recording many local positive cases" since Sunday.

Many of the commercial hub's 25 million people will have to take two tests between Tuesday and Thursday, authorities said.

Despite a gruelling, two-month citywide lockdown being formally lifted at the end of May, parts of Shanghai have simmered under local lockdowns and testing drives after finding sporadic new cases.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

1.7 million locked down in China's Anhui province
Beijing (AFP) July 4, 2022
China placed 1.7 million people under lockdown in central Anhui province, where authorities reported nearly 300 new cases Monday in the latest of a string of outbreaks testing Beijing's no-tolerance approach to Covid-19. The country is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid strategy, responding to all cases with strict isolation orders and tough testing campaigns. The outbreak in Anhui - where officials first found hundreds of cases last week - comes as the Chinese economy begins to reb ... read more