COVID-related restrictions tightened in parts of China as local cases climbed, while mild measures such as virus testing in Shanghai, pictured here on July 3, 2022.
Kilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Beijing – a few days later China eases some covid controls The virus cases in different parts of the country have put new areas on alert.
According to Nomura’s chief China economist Ting Lu, the number of cities restricting local movement more than doubled in a week to 11 as of Monday, from five a week earlier.
Nomura said the latest measures hit sectors that account for about 14.9% of China’s GDP, up from 10.1% a week ago.
Mainland China’s daily COVID case count, including those without symptoms, has risen from a handful of cases over the past several days to about 200 or 300 new cases. Most are asymptomatic.
Many of the new cases are in the vicinity of Shanghai. Wuxi, a nearby city in Jiangsu province, said late Saturday that bars and gyms need to be temporarily closed, Whereas restaurants could only offer takeaway.
Last week, a much smaller area called Si County in the neighboring province of Anhuik Residents were ordered to stay in their homes and leave at the designated time for virus testing.
In June, Beijing and Shanghai tried to resume normal business activity after weeks of restrictions that kept children out of schools and compulsorily closed many restaurants. The southeastern metropolis of Shanghai was hit hardest so far and was closed for April and May.
Last week, mainland China cut the quarantine period for international travelers and close contacts of COVID cases. The country also rolled out a nationwide travel system that would theoretically make it easier to move within the country.
The daily Covid case count in Beijing and Shanghai has fallen to single digits or zero in the past several days.
“If they ignore the rebound of COVID cases and continue to underestimate the cost of COVID prevention measures, the market may become a little more complacent,” Nomura’s Lu said in a report on Monday.
In addition to new cases on the mainland in economic superpowers such as Jiangsu province, Lu noted the spread of COVID-19 to surrounding economies – Hong Kong’s climbing case count and Taiwan’s daily average of more than 100 new deaths over the past week. in clear.
Mainland China has not reported any new deaths from Covid for weeks.
“We have been in a phase of upliftment of China’s ‘Covid Business Cycle (CBC)’ since late May, thanks to a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases, lifting of the lockdown and other easing of the Zero-Covid Strategy (ZCS). sanctions, and stimulus measures,” he said. “However, another wave of omicrons may signal a return to the downswing phase, even if the timing of such an event is uncertain.”