(Bloomberg) -- China's daily Covid infections climbed to a record high, exceeding the previous peak in April, as it battles an outbreak that has grown since the country adopted a more targeted approach to containing the virus.
The country reported 29,754 new cases for Wednesday, more than the 28,973 infections recorded in mid-April when the financial hub of Shanghai was in the midst of a grueling two-month lockdown that saw residents struggle to access food and medical services.
The recent surge comes at a critical moment for China, whose leaders have to decide whether to tolerate some spread of the virus or revert to strict curbs to halt the outbreak at the expense of the economy. Major cities ranging from Beijing to Chongqing and Guangzhou have largely come to a standstill as chains of transmission penetrate apartments, office buildings and shopping malls.
Cities are once again expanding their testing efforts and building makeshift hospitals to quarantine the growing number of people who are infected. Though no city-wide lockdowns have been announced, the widespread restrictions are increasingly paralyzing economic activities, even as authorities pledge to make their responses more targeted and less disruptive.
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