Shanghai Locks Down Western Half as Top Expert Vows Covid Zero

(Bloomberg) -- Shanghai's two-part lockdown shifted to its western half, where 16 million people will be confined to their homes from Friday amid surging Covid cases, while one of China's top virus experts said the country can still return to zero infection.

Residents in the western part of the Chinese financial hub, where about two-thirds of Shanghai's population lives, began their four-day lockdown at 3 a.m. local time on Friday after ending a sweeping lockdown of the east. Over the period, residents are barred from leaving home unless going out for mandatory mass Covid tests.

Ma Chunlei, the city's secretary general, said Thursday the new lockdown will be more complicated than the first given the greater number of people and bigger geographical area.

Shanghai has emerged as the epicenter of China's worst virus outbreak since the early days of the pandemic. The city's daily infections shot up from less than five at the beginning of March to almost 6,000 earlier this week, though they've subsequently declined. The spread of the highly transmissible omicron strain to Shanghai is the biggest test yet for President Xi Jinping's dual goals of eliminating the virus while minimizing the economic and social impacts of a Covid Zero strategy.

Covid Zero

Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Friday reiterated China's stance of completely eliminating the virus despite soaring cases in recent days.

“Admittedly, omicron's enhanced infectiousness and fast spread, along with a substantial share of asymptomatic infections means Covid Zero is more difficult and requires longer time,” he said at a media briefing in Beijing.

“But as long as we go hard, solid and fast in implementing control at every link, we will definitely achieve Covid Zero,” said Wu, who also cautioned against long-distance traveling and urged social distancing in the upcoming tomb-sweeping festival.

Covid infections in mainland China topped 100,000 in March, penetrating into all but two of the country's 31 provinces and municipalities. Shanghai and the northeastern province of Jilin, which is also under lockdown, accounted for about 80% of the cases, official data show.

The worsening outbreak in Shanghai -- home to the world's largest container port and country headquarters of many domestic and overseas companies -- is further weighing on the world's second-largest economy and threatening to disrupt global supply chains. Tesla Inc. extended the suspension of production at its Shanghai factory by at least a day, according to people familiar with the matter Thursday, amid uncertainty over the city's pandemic control.

More than half the 167 companies surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai have lowered their revenue forecasts for this year due to the outbreak. Among manufacturers, 82% reported slowed or reduced production. Nearly half of the firms said they will reduce investment in China if existing Covid restrictions remain for the next year.

Lingering Restrictions

The lockdown of Shanghai's east met its goal and has been instrumental in containing community spread of the virus, Wu Jinglei, director of the Shanghai Heath Commission, said at the city's Covid briefing on Friday. The city carried out more than 18 million nucleic acid tests during the 4-day period.

The government will also step up control on people seeking to leave the city. Effective April 2, individuals leaving the city must undergo a nucleic acid test in the previous 48 hours and as well as evidence of antigen test with a negative result.

While the lockdown of Shanghai's east officially ended at 5 a.m. local time, many, if not most, of the residents there will not get to leave their homes immediately. About half of the 4,500 infections the city reported Friday came from the Pudong district, and anyone living in a building where a Covid case has been reported will need to stay confined for another 10 days.

Residents of other buildings in the same compounds as a positive patient will be subject to a seven-day movement restriction. People living close to locked-down compounds will be confined to their neighborhood for a week, and limited to sending one person from each household out once a day to fetch necessities delivered to them.

Dine-in service at all restaurants in the eastern part of the city will remain halted, while bars, internet cafes, karaoke lounges are still closed.

With assistance from Bloomberg