(Reuters) – China is fighting COVID-19 flare-ups on multiple fronts across the country including an emerging cluster in Shanghai, spurring mass testing drives and fresh restrictions, as pressures mount on local officials to avert a wider spread and huge disruptions.
The overall case load remained small by global standards with just over 300 daily local infections, but any further potential surge in key cities could call for a return of stringent measures under China’s “dynamic COVID zero” policy and dent confidence in the country’s economic recovery. Shanghai, which lifted its two-month lockdown in early June, is testing all residents in nine of its 16 districts from Tuesday to Thursday as well as those in parts of three other districts.
It has also suspended operations at karaoke venues, following cases linked to a KTV lounge, but the gradual reopening of cinemas and performance venues from Friday will still go ahead, Jin Lei, an official at Shanghai’s cultural and tourism authority, told a news briefing on Wednesday.”Several Chinese areas are facing local outbreaks and infections have emerged at the community level in Shanghai, to which we should attach great importance,” Shanghai health official Zhao Dandan warned at the briefing.
“There should be no slacking,” Zhao said.
The financial hub of around 25 million people reported 24 domestically transmitted infections on Tuesday, official data showed on Wednesday, up from eight the prior day.
