Shanghai's Covid-19 cases hit a record 1,600 amid stricter, localised lockdown

People line up for Covid-19 testing following an outbreak in Shanghai on March 24, 2022. - Reuters

SHANGHAI, March 25 (Bloomberg/Reuters): Shanghai's Covid-19 cases jumped more than 60 per cent in a single day, topping 1,600 on Friday (March 25), even as the authorities escalated restrictions that many feared would plunge the Chinese financial hub into city-wide lockdown.

There were 1,609 new infections, a record in the city of about 25 million people, including 1,580 without any symptoms, the Shanghai Health Commission said.