As the nation battles new outbreaks, Shenzhen, China's southern tech powerhouse, stated that it will implement tier-based anti-virus restriction measures starting on Monday (Sept. 5). Chengdu, China's southwest city, declared an extension of lockdown limitations.
Shenzhen declared a new round of COVID-19 testing and pledged to "marshal all available resources, mobilize all forces, and take all possible measures" to stop the epidemic after going into a weekend lockdown on Saturday.
Separately, Chengdu, which on Thursday ordered its 21 million residents into lockdown, declared that it will keep limits in place for the majority of the city and perform more mass tests from Monday to Wednesday.
Even though the majority of other nations have loosened restrictions and made the decision to live with the virus, China is adhering to its rigid zero-COVID policy. Fresh outbreaks are now a significant threat to the second-largest economy in the world.
According to a calculation by the Chinese financial magazine Caixin, 33 cities currently have partial or complete lockdowns in place that affect more than 65 million people. An official in Shenzen, a city of 18 million, stated that the hazards were still quite high.
"Currently, the city's COVID situation is severe and complex. The number of new infections remains relatively high and community transmission risk still exists," Lin Hancheng, a Shenzhen public health official said.
On Sept. 3, the city recorded 89 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, up from 87 the previous day. Shenzhen will divide its neighborhoods into low, medium, and high-risk infection groups based on the results of the weekend testing, according to Lin.
Temporary limitations would be extended for a further three days in regions where illnesses were discovered. Major districts in Futian, Nanshan, and Longhua said that theaters and KTVS would remain closed and that restaurants would only allow half of their patrons to eat there.
The Futian District's Nanyuan neighborhood will continue to be considered a medium-risk area because of the comparatively high number of positive cases discovered there, Lin said.
Even in the two locations, Xinjin District and Qionglai City, where life is permitted to return to normal, indoor dining will continue to be prohibited and public events like conferences and plays will be rigorously controlled.
The city government of Chengdu, China, also said on Sunday that it would continue to implement COVID lockdown curbs throughout much of the city and carry out more citywide mass testing from Monday through Wednesday (Sept. 4). The southern metropolis said it will ease the limitations only in the district of Xinjin and a county-level city of Qionglai, where about 21 million residents were placed under lockdown on Thursday.
