Pandemic: Lockdown in China’s economic center Chengdu lifted

After almost three weeks, the lockdown in the Chinese metropolis of Chengdu, which has a population of 21 million, was lifted on Monday. The economic and industrial center in south-west China was able to return to normal much faster than Shanghai in the spring. There had been a two-month curfew in the eastern Chinese port city, which had also caused considerable disruption to global supply chains and led to sometimes chaotic conditions.

Residents of Chengdu will have to be tested for Corona at least once a week in the future. However, in order to be able to visit public places or use local transport, a negative PCR test that is no more than 72 hours old must be presented – as in many other cities in China. After Shanghai, the capital of Sichuan province was the second major economic center in China to be sent into a lockdown – but earlier, it was said, so that the restrictions could be lifted earlier.

Affected tens of millions of people

As the rest of the world tries to live with the virus, China continues to implement a strict zero-Covid policy of lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine. With the slight spread of the new Omikron variant, however, the measures are proving to be less effective. A few dozen cities in China are currently under full or partial lockdowns, affecting tens of millions of people.

There have recently been complaints, especially from the Tibet and Xinjiang regions, where the delivery of food or medical care was not working properly in some places. The Beijing Health Commission reported around 800 newly identified local infections nationwide on Sunday, almost 100 of them in Sichuan province. No new cases were detected in Chengdu.