Shanghai 'Hurry' COVID-19 Infection Cases, Beijing Limits Taxi Service

Ilustrasi tes COVID-19 massal di Shanghai, China. (Wikimedia Commons/China News)

JAKARTA - China's Shanghai Municipal Authority is combing through cases of COVID-19 infection in its territory, as a move to break out of a six-week lockdown, while Beijing has restricted taxi services to continue narrowing the outbreak.

Shanghai, China's commercial hub of 25 million people in recent days has tightened its lockdown for a final push to stamp out the virus by the end of the month, after making some significant progress, data this week showed.

Shanghai's mass testing detected just two new cases outside the area facing the strictest restrictions on May 11, officials said on Thursday, but that was two more than none the previous day.

Significantly, cases were found in two of the city's 16 districts, Xuhui and Fengxian, which authorities said this week were among eight that have achieved "zero COVID" status, having had no community cases for three consecutive days.

The latest cases show difficulties in resolving the highly contagious variant of Omicron, despite the draconian enforcement of some of China's toughest restrictions since the virus emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.

The new infections have also raised concerns about how long a return to normal life could last under China's no-compromise "zero COVID" policy, after the lockdown was finally lifted.

Yu Linwei, deputy governor of Xuhui said at a press conference, his district will not relax anti-epidemic efforts, ensuring everyone is tested. Meanwhile, new cases and close contacts are isolated in quarantine as soon as possible.

"We dare not slack off," he said.

Several district residents, who in recent days have been allowed to leave their complexes to stroll and shop for groceries, said they had received notices of being unable to leave their homes and to prepare for further testing.

Overall, Shanghai reported 1,305 new local asymptomatic coronavirus cases for May 11, up from 1,259 the day before and 144 symptomatic cases, down from 228. However, this is in an area already under tight control.

Cases found in relatively freer communities are the most closely watched, for clues as to where the Shanghai outbreak is headed. Other Chinese cities, under similar lockdowns, began easing restrictions after a period of zero cases in the area.

Separately, China's capital, Beijing, reported 46 new COVID cases for May 11, up from 37. Late Wednesday, Beijing announced the suspension of taxi and vehicle services in parts of Chaoyang District, Beijing's largest and the epicenter of the outbreak, as well as two other districts.

Authorities there have banned dining services in restaurants, closed several malls, entertainment and tourist spots, suspended parts of the bus and subway systems, and imposed lockdowns on several residential buildings.

Having tightened restrictions earlier in its outbreak, Beijing fared much better than Shanghai at this point in its latest outbreak.