As reported by Chinese state media, all of the approximately 21 million residents of the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu (the city is Linz’s sister city, by the way) should not go outside since yesterday evening. The entire city will then be tested within four days.
The authorities announced the strict measures after 132 corona infections were detected in Chengdu on Wednesday. Across the country, the authorities reported 307 new infections.
There had already been lockdowns in other cities in the past few days. In the metropolis of Dalian, for example, a curfew was imposed on around half of the six million inhabitants. Chengde and Shijiazhuang, near the capital Beijing, also imposed restrictions on an undisclosed number of people. In the east Chinese city of Tianjin, the authorities ordered corona tests for the entire population. In the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, some parts of the city were sealed off again.
China’s economy is suffering because Beijing does not want to move away from its strict “zero corona policy”. The aim of this is to nip any outbreak of the disease in the bud. Numerous cities with over a million inhabitants had repeatedly imposed strict corona measures this year to prevent the highly contagious omicron variant from spreading.
Mood gloomy
In any case, the mood in industrial companies has deteriorated further and is pointing to a contraction. In August, the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) of the Chinese business magazine Caixin fell to 49.5 points from 50.4 points in the previous month, the paper reported. It is the second decline in a row. The economic barometer has thus again fallen below the so-called expansion threshold of 50 points, which indicates a decline in industrial activity.
Source: Nachrichten
