Pandemic
The number of people infected with corona in Shanghai is not falling
Residents of a residential complex in Shanghai undergoing a PCR test. The corona numbers in the Chinese metropolis remain high despite the lockdown. Photo: -/kyodo/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Despite strict lockdown measures, the authorities in Shanghai are still observing a constant rate of infection.
Even after several weeks of rigid curfews, China’s largest city, Shanghai, has not reported any decrease in the number of people infected with corona.
As the National Health Commission announced on Sunday, 24,820 infections were registered in the city within the last 24 hours. A majority of the cases were asymptomatic, according to the official data.
Shanghai is at the center of the largest corona wave that the world’s most populous country has experienced since the outbreak of the pandemic two years ago. For several weeks, the majority of the approximately 26 million inhabitants have not been able to leave their homes. But the strict curfews have so far failed to contain the virus. A week and a half ago, the city authorities reported more than 20,000 infections per day for the first time, and since then the infection rate has remained roughly constant.
As the rest of the world tries to live with the virus, China’s authorities continue to implement a rigid zero-Covid strategy, already responding to small outbreaks of infection with lockdowns, mass testing and aggressive contact tracing. A number of cities in the country are currently partially or completely in lockdown. However, the highly infectious omicron variant pushes China’s rigid measures to their limits.