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Several COVID-stricken cities from east to west of China imposed new restrictions and lockdowns on their populations on Thursday to contain a flare-up that could again disrupt local economies.
Reducing unnecessary movement of people for days as soon as dozens of new cases emerge – a softer type of lockdown – is a key exercise in China’s ‘dynamic COVID-zero’ strategy. is to avoid turning efforts to contain the outbreak into the long-running nightmare seen in Shanghai and Wuhan.
Uncertainty about how long such minor lockdowns will last is undermining business confidence and reducing people’s willingness to travel, as Omicron’s highly contagious nature makes it difficult to eliminate infections. .
China’s COVID lockdown is a symptom of a deeper problem
Yiwu, the eastern export and manufacturing hub, announced on Thursday that it would enter a three-day “silence control”, with most residents banned from leaving designated areas and some confined to their homes. .
Yiwu’s 1.9 million people are among several cities whose movement is largely restricted to residential facilities, except when they have to leave their homes for COVID tests, grocery shopping, hospital visits, etc. Joined millions of people.
All public facilities in Yiwu have been closed for three days, with the exception of hospitals and other places providing essential services, although businesses whose employees can work on closed campuses are still allowed to operate. .
In western China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, three cities in the Aksu district have been allowed to leave their homes for work since Thursday, while others are restricted to essential travel only. It is not clear when the measures will be lifted.
Meanwhile, major districts of Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi have been on lockdown for five days since Wednesday.
The cluster of tourist hotspots Hainan and Tibet continued to expand, and affected cities were put on lockdown.
Mainland China reported 1,993 new coronavirus cases infected within the country on Aug. 10, with 614 showing symptoms and 1,379 asymptomatic.
There were no new deaths, bringing the death toll to 5,226. As of August 10, China has confirmed 232,809 symptomatic cases, including those infected domestically and those arriving.
Chinese officials apologize for COVID-19 intrusion
China’s capital Beijing reported two local cases the day before, while financial hub Shanghai and southern technology hub Shenzhen reported no new local infections.