China’s COVID-19 cases are surging toward record highs, signalling more pain for the world’s second-largest economy as hopes fade for a quick exit from Beijing’s draconian “zero-COVID” policies.
The National Health Commission on Wednesday reported 29,157 infections nationwide for the previous day, close to April’s peak.
China’s daily caseload peaked at 29,411 on April 13, when Shanghai was several weeks into a punishing lockdown that prompted food shortages and rare displays of social unrest.
The rising cases come as a video circulating on social media on Wednesday appeared to show fresh worker unrest at Apple supplier Foxconn’s massive manufacturing facility in the industrial city of Zhengzhou.
In the footage shared on video platform Kuaishou, people could be seen smashing surveillance cameras and windows, pulling down barriers and arguing with hazmat-suited officials while chanting for their pay.
Numerous former Foxconn workers have complained of food shortages and draconian quarantine rules at the campus, which is home to the world’s largest iPhone factory. The Reuters news agency reported that two sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed protests at the Zhengzhou facility but declined to provide further details.
More than half of Wednesday’s caseload, which includes more than 26,400 infections classed as asymptomatic, were reported in Guangzhou and Chongqing, mega-cities in southern and central China, respectively, that are home to more than 35 million people.
In Beijing, where authorities have shuttered schools, strengthened testing requirements, and restricted movements in and out of the city, infections hit a new peak of 1,486.
Shanghai and Zhengzhou, both of which are battling smaller outbreaks, also saw their cases rise from the previous day.
Guangzhou began a five-day lockdown on Monday, following similar measures earlier this month that led to rare public protests, while the southwestern city of Chengdu on Wednesday began a new round of mass testing.
The restrictions are a new blow to China’s sputtering economic recovery and pour cold water on expectations of a shift away from “zero COVID” after the announcement of separate plans to ease restrictions and revive the ailing real estate sector briefly generated positive buzz on Wall Street.
Source: Al Jazeera
BDST: 1517 HRS, NOV 23, 2022
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