Authorities in Chengdu, one of China’s largest cities, are preparing to lock down its residents, turning once again to the country’s tried-and-tested Covid strategy to limit the movement of people to prevent outbreaks.
Starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, people in this city of more than 21 million people will not be allowed to leave their homes without special permission, in the most drastic move to contain the outbreak since the outbreak. Shanghai fell into a two-month lockdown in April. Officials gave no indication of how long the lockdown might last but said there would be mass testing starting Thursday and lasting through the weekend. Chengdu reported 157 cases on Wednesday and 780 cases as of August 25.
China is the last major country in the world to pursue a policy of eradicating the virus, and it uses citywide lockdown measures and mass testing to tackle the root of the outbreak. But this approach is adding to the pressure facing local governments in Sichuan, the southern province whose capital is Chengdu. A record drought and a devastating heatwave have devastated the region’s electricity supply, and for more than a week, emergency responders battled fast-spreading wildfires around the city of Chongqing.
The challenges come as the ruling Communist Party is also dealing with an economic slowdown, largely caused by the zero-Covid policy, at a politically sensitive time. The country’s top leader, Xi Jinping, is prepare yourself to take power for a third term next month.
China’s southwestern region has lived relatively well for nearly three years during the pandemic. But in recent weeks, some places, including the megacity of Chongqing, have had to fight to contain new outbreaks. Millions of residents there waited for hours in the hot and harsh sun while authorities carried out mass inspections last week.
Chengdu and several other cities across China have postponed their opening hours on Wednesday. Earlier this week, city officials began requiring residents to provide 24-hour Covid nucleic acid tests to enter residential areas and commercial offices, and they closed public places and facilities. entertainment business.
On Thursday, people turned to Chinese social media to vent about the news of the lockdown after officials in Chengdu denied rumors earlier in the week that a lockdown was imminent. . Video posted to Weibo, a popular social media platform, shows crowds of residents in outdoor markets and supermarkets, rushing to buy food.
The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, closed the world’s largest electronics market on Monday and suspended service on much of the city’s subway system.
In Hong Kong this week, an outbreak has hit nearly 10,000 a day, the most since one in the spring, leading to some of the city’s strictest restrictions on the pandemic and that has promote an exodus of foreigners. Officials there are now trying a more lenient approach, different for the first time from China’s pandemic strategy. Officials in Hong Kong have relaxed the mandatory hotel quarantine for people returning from abroad twice this summer.
