China imposes COVID-19 lockdowns for millions

BEIJING: Several big Chinese cities escalated COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday (Aug 30), with authorities doubling down on efforts to contain the coronavirus ahead of a key ruling Communist Party meeting this year.

Nearly 4 million people in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, were ordered to stay home until the end of the week as officials rush to curb a small virus flare-up.

And more than 13 million in the neighbouring port city of Tianjin must undergo mass testing from 6am local time, after 51 mostly mild cases were reported.

Longhua, a Shenzhen district with 2.5 million residents, on Tuesday closed various entertainment venues and wholesale marketplaces and suspended large events.

People must show proof of negative test results within 24 hours to enter residential compounds, and restaurants must limit the number of customers to no more than 50 per cent of their capacity, Longhua's district authority said. The new curbs are expected to expire on Saturday.

The moves followed similar measures announced on Monday covering three other districts that affected over 6 million in Shenzhen, which has fought multiple outbreaks of Omicron sub-variants this year.

While city officials have not announced a blanket delay to the new school year, six parents with children in primary and middle schools said their schools had notified them of postponements, with many parents expressing anxiety over the uncertainty in parent chat groups.

In Dalian, a major port in northeastern China important for soybeans and iron ore imports, the main urban areas with around 3 million residents on Tuesday entered a lockdown that is to last until Sunday. Households are allowed to send only one person out per day to shop for daily necessities.

During the lockdown, non-essential workers must work from home, while manufacturing companies are to cut on-site staff and maintain basic and urgent operations only.

China is the only major global economy sticking to a zero-COVID policy, and lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing have disrupted businesses and cooled growth.

Beijing has doubled down on the policy ahead of the Communist Party's 20th National Congress, expected to take place within the next three months.

The handling of the pandemic is widely seen as central to the political legacy of President Xi Jinping, who is set to be anointed for an unprecedented third term in office at the meeting.

But "the actual COVID situation in China might be worsening, as Omicron has once again spread to large cities", Nomura analyst Ting Lu warned in a research note.

Chengdu, western China's largest city, has also seen strict travel restrictions. The districts of Wuhou and Qingyang on Tuesday suspended many venues and tour groups and planned to delay the start of the fall semester for schools, after the district of Jinniu on Monday tightened curbs. The three districts have around 3.5 million residents in total. 

The world's biggest electronics market in Huaqiangbei has also been closed - despite just 35 daily cases being reported in the city of over 18 million.

"The notice to close came abruptly, we only had a few hours to put our stock into warehouses and lock up," a trader at the Huaqiangbei tech market, who only offered his last name Chen, told AFP.

In Futian, where the city government is located, cinemas, karaoke bars and parks are closed until Friday and large public events have been cancelled.

Officials also sealed off Wanxia neighbourhood on the city's outskirts, which offers affordable housing for delivery drivers and migrant workers, although no cases were reported there. 

In the northern city of Shijiazhuang, about three-and-a-half hours' drive from the capital Beijing, four big districts have ordered more than 3 million residents to work from home, excluding essential workers, until Wednesday afternoon.

China reported 1,717 domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections for Aug 29, including 349 symptomatic ones and 1,368 asymptomatic infections, official data showed on Tuesday.

Among over 20 provinces, regions and municipalities that reported cases, the region of Tibet, the province of Sichuan, of which Chengdu is the capital, and the province of Qinghai contributed the most daily cases for Monday.

Qinghai's provincial capital, Xining, with 2.5 million residents, has ordered a lockdown for its main urban areas, halting public transport and restricting movement outside residential compounds. The lockdown, which started on Monday, was scheduled to be lifted on Thursday morning.