As winter approaches, officials in Chinese cities and provinces across the country are pulling no punches in combating sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks, quickly closing venues and imposing longer temporary lockdowns on millions of people.
Cases in mainland China surpassed 2,000 for the second day in a row on Sunday, putting pressure on the country’s contentious zero-COVID policy, which has hampered the economy and exasperated its citizens.
Guangdong province’s manufacturing capital, Guangzhou, has seen a rash of cases over the last week, forcing the closure of some districts. Haizhu’s 1.8 million residents, or roughly 10% of Guangzhou’s population, have been hit the hardest.
Total cases in Guangzhou increased to 1,110 from 402 the previous seven days, from October 24-30. The threat of a major lockdown would jolt the city and harken back to Shanghai’s nightmare two-month lockdown a few months ago.
Shanghai Disney Resort announced on Monday that the entire resort would be closed beginning October 31 due to COVID prevention measures in the city.
Lu Dongliang, secretary of the Datong Municipal Party Committee, returned from the party congress last week to assess the “dire situation in the city” of over one million people.
Datong, which recorded 288 cases between October 27 and October 30, has implemented stricter isolation and management of hotels, key industries, and its railway. According to local media reports, some city officials have been punished for lax enforcement of COVID rules.
As winter approaches, northern cities, particularly those near international borders, are seeing an increase in cases and may face new restrictions.
