Groundhog Day for China as new Covid lockdowns imposed

After dozens of cities saw a spike in cases of Coronavirus, China’s zero-Covid policy sees millions confined to their homes

Back to square one, two years on

Covid cases in China are rising again. With reports yesterday of 1,437 cases popping up across dozens of cities, the country is staring down the barrel of its worst Covid surge since those early, shudder-inducing days back in 2020.

The highly populated cities of Jilin, Shenzhen and Dongguan all locking back down will see more than 51 million people ordered to stay at home – a stark contrast to countries in the west that are beginning to ‘learn to live’ with the virus.

Tough times signal ‘rona ain’t over

With the Omicron variant ripping through some of its major cities, Shanghai-based virologist Zhang Wenhong called the flare-up “the most difficult moment in the past two years” in China.

In Shenzhen, the lockdown is set to last seven days and with three rounds of testing, and with 17.5 million residents, it’ll be no mean feat. This is also likely to threaten manufacturing and tech production in the city, which is home to Huawei and Tencent, and is known as China’s Silicon Valley.

But while experts don’t expect the lockdowns to have an impact on China’s GDP, perhaps the big worry for Chinese residents will be: Are lockdowns set to be a part of life forever?