Covid control workers disinfect an area in Beijing, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, where locals gathered a day earlier to protest strict Covid measures.
Kevin Fryer | Getty Images News | Getty Images
BEIJING – Mainland China on Monday reported its first drop in daily Covid infections in more than a week.
The country said local infections, mostly asymptomatic, totaled 38,421, down from Sunday’s record high of 40,052, according to a CNBC count of wind information data.
The data shows that the last time the number of daily cases declined from the previous day was on November 19.
Local infections fell in Guangdong and Chongqing, two of the hardest-hit regions in the latest Covid wave. No new deaths occurred.
But infections spiked on Monday compared to the day before in the capital Beijing, as did Shanghai, albeit on a much smaller scale. Shanghai Disneyland said it would cease operations on Tuesday after briefly reopening on Friday. Universal Beijing Resort remains open.
There were no signs of new protests on Monday. Over the weekend, groups of students and people organized public demonstrations across China Oppose the country’s strict zero-covid policy.
According to social media, security has been tightened in areas in Beijing and Shanghai where protesters gathered. some social media reports said police were checking the phones of locals in Shanghai for foreign apps that cannot be accessed on the mainland without a VPN.
China’s official nightly news broadcast on Monday did not mention the unrest, but included a segment calling for unity around current COVID measures. The broadcast also emphasized on how the government is maintaining the delivery of health services and daily essentials to the people in lockdown.
The measures are aimed at reducing the impact of Covid on the economy and society, claimed an op-ed in the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, on Tuesday. The article strongly rejected the idea of relaxed controls.
Tighter COVID controls this year have taken a heavy toll on business activity and economic growth in China. By the third quarter, national gross domestic product had grown by 3% year-on-year, well short of the official target of around 5.5% set in March.
As of Monday, 25.1% of China’s GDP was negatively affected by Covid containment, according to the Nomura model. This is above the previous peak of 21.2% recorded in April during the lockdown in Shanghai.
Nomura analysts said “a sharp increase in public discontent over the lockdown over the past weekend could set the road to reopening.”
Policy changes loosen and tighten
Municipal authorities later banned the use of hard materials to block fire exits, apartment building doors and compound entrances, and said short-term lockdowns should not exceed 24 hours.
He also said that the exit channels for receiving medical treatment should remain unobstructed. Earlier, anecdotes on social media described how people were denied access to medical care because of perceived Covid controls.
There is local variation in COVID measures and their implementation, especially given the scattered nature of the outbreaks.
Since Tuesday, the city of Shanghai has tightened restrictions on entry to restaurants, shopping malls and other business places. Anyone who wishes to enter must now submit a negative virus test within the previous 48 hours, down from 72 hours.
And in the wake of the protests, at least Tsinghua University has encouraged students to return home early for the Lunar New Year winter break – a month ahead of schedule.
— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.
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