Shanghai cases exceed 26,000 again as Covid Zero resolve holds

People pass edible oil over the barriers at a street market under lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in Shanghai, China April 13, 2022. - Reuters

SHANGHAI (Bloomberg): Shanghai posted a new daily record for Covid-19 cases, as much of the city remains under some kind of movement restrictions with ongoing disruptions to food and manufacturing supply chains.

The city of 25 million saw 26,330 new infections on Tuesday (April 12), China Central Television said early Wednesday. That’s up from the 23,342 reported for Monday, and the previous all-time high of 26,087 on Sunday, as officials struggle to tame what has become China’s most significant virus crisis since the pandemic began.

While curbs have been eased in some areas, the majority of the city remains under a tight lockdown that bars even outside exercise or shopping for essential items.

Frustration is palpable, with food shortages continuing and access to non-Covid medical care impacted. Some residents have been confined to their apartment blocks for weeks, long before the official lockdown began on March 28 with an initial shutdown of the eastern half of the city. It was extended to all of Shanghai a few days later.

Companies like Tesla Inc, which located its first non-US factory near Shanghai, have seen weeks of disruption and production pauses, with even those able to continue operating under special, bubble-like arrangements stymied by logistics snarls and a lack of delivery drivers.

Officials continue to sound notes of caution, with Lei Zhenglong of China’s National Health Commission, telling reporters Tuesday that community spread in Shanghai had yet to be curbed. The city may continue to see high case numbers over the next few days, Lei said.

Most of the new cases are in people already in isolation facilities, given China’s policy is to put positive patients and their close contacts into quarantine as a way of halting Covid spread. Shanghai’s outbreak will be judged as under control once all of its new cases come from close contacts who are already in isolation, a group that currently accounts for about 97% of them, Liang Wannian, one of China’s top epidemiologists, said over the weekend.

China’s current Covid strategy -- often referred to by officials as "dynamic zero” -- is the best option for the country right now, Wu Zunyou, a virus expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday. President Xi Jinping has also emphasised China’s commitment to the strict Covid strategy, but said that it needs to be deployed with minimal impact to the economy and business.