As Shanghai and other cities shut down to fight coronavirus outbreaks, China faces sinking economic growth.
Shanghai’s COVID-19 lockdown continues to cause havoc for its 25 million residents with many struggling to get basic necessities as China pursues a strict zero-tolerance policy to tackle the virus spread.
More than 22,000 COVID cases were recorded over the weekend – making up 95% of mainland china’s new Covid cases. There have been around 320,000 cases in the country's richest city, China’s worst outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic.
Three deaths were reported on Monday, of people between the ages of 89 and 91.
Those who test positive are placed in government isolation centres even if they are asymptomatic.
Many locals have complained that some of these isolation centres do not comply with minimum hygiene conditions, cold temperatures and leaky rooves.
Tensions boiled over on Friday, when residents clashed with police in white PPE suits, trying to cross barricades blocking other parts of the city.
What also remains unstable is China’s economic forecast. In its first quarter, China’s growth edged up by 4.8% – which fell below the annual target of 5.5%.
Growth slid to 1.3% over the previous quarter in the first three months of 2022, down from a 1.4% rate in last year's final quarter, official data showed Monday.
The slowdown hurts China's trading partners by depressing demand for oil, steel, consumer goods, food and other imports. Oil prices, which spiked after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, have fallen back somewhat on expectations that Chinese consumption will weaken.
The first three months of 2022 don't take into consideration Shanghai’s lockdown and its impact on the economy, so many investors are worried that the GDP rate will fall further.
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