Officials in Chinese provinces and cities around the country are reportedly trying to curb sporadic COVID-19 breakouts as winter approaches, by immediately closing venues and imposing extended interim lockdowns on millions of individuals.
On Sunday, the number of cases in mainland China surpasses 2,000 for the second day in a row, pressurizing the country’s disruptive zero-COVID policy, which has hindered the economy and infuriated its residents.
Several cases in the manufacturing center of Guangzhou have resulted in the evacuation of various neighborhoods. The 1.8 million Haizhu residents, or about 10% of Guangzhou's population, are the most severely impacted.
1,110 instances in total, up from 402 over the previous seven days, were reported in Guangzhou from October 24 to 30. The idea of a prolonged lockdown would frighten the city and trigger bring back horrific flashbacks of the most recent two-month lockdown that Shanghai experienced.
The Shanghai Disney Property stated on Monday that the entire resort will be shut down from October 31 in response to COVID prevention initiatives in the city.
Authorities have been rushing to contain escalating cases in Xining, Datong, Xian, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Zhengzhou during the past week, pushing several neighborhoods into brief lockdowns.
Following the party congress last week, Lu Dongliang, Datong's secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, hurried back to assess the dire circumstances in the city of over one million.
Following the reporting of 288 incidents between October 27 and October 30, Datong has strengthened the isolation and supervision of its hotels and important industries, including the railway. Several city authorities were allegedly reprimanded for breaking COVID rules, as per the local media.
With the approaching winter, northern cities, particularly those close to international borders, are registering increasing cases and may be subject to more limitations.
According to local media reports, Mudanjiang in the bordering North Korean province of Heilongjiang has extended the temporary lockdown of several areas. Along the borders of Russia, North Korea, and Myanmar, cities like Suihua, Dandong, and Ruili have also reported outbreaks.
Source credit: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/10/31/china-locks-down-millions-as-cases-rise-ahead-of-winter