Shanghai reports zero infections for the first time since the Covid outbreak

In March, infections began to multiply in the country’s economic capital, which ended up decreeing a severe confinement for two months.

The Chinese city of Shanghai did not register any new Covid-19 infections on Saturday for the first time since March, when a strong outbreak linked to the omicron variant broke out, leading to a long and severe confinement of its population.

“There were no new confirmed domestic cases of Covid-19 and no new asymptomatic infections in Shanghai on June 24, 2022,” the city government of 25 million people said in a statement.

In March, infections began to multiply in the country’s economic capital, which ended up decreeing a severe confinement for two months. The lockdown, criticized by the population struggling to obtain food and medical care, was partially lifted in early June, although the return to normality has been hampered by the re-establishment of restrictions in some districts.

Two weeks ago, millions of people were again temporarily confined when the city government launched a mass testing campaign in some areas. Meanwhile, the capital Beijing closed schools and offices for weeks due to another outbreak that officials say was contained last week.

The municipal education department indicated this Saturday that all elementary and high school students will be able to return to school from Monday, although teachers, students and parents must first pass a PCR test. The capital recorded just two new infections on Saturday.

For its part, Shenzhen, a large industrial city in the south of the country, announced today that it will close wholesale markets, cinemas and gyms in a district that borders Hong Kong for three days, after detecting cases of covid-19 in that city. .

China is one of the largest economies in the world that continues to apply the so-called “zero covid” strategy to eradicate the virus based on restrictions on international travel, quarantines, mass testing and severe lockdowns. The authorities insist that this policy is necessary to avoid a collapse of the health system due to the unequal distribution of medical resources and the low rates of vaccination of the elderly.

Source: AFP