As some parts of China reopen, others are imposing new Covid-related restrictions, reflecting the challenge government officials face in controlling the worst outbreak since early 2020.
Chinese authorities are trying to maintain their zero- Covid strategy that helped the economy grow in 2020. The strategy needs to be dynamic.
Local officials now face a number of challenges at once, including keeping their jobs, controlling Covid outbreaks, limiting the spread of a highly transmissible variant, and supporting enough growth to achieve the national GDP target.
According to a statement Friday of a top-level government meeting chaired by the Chinese President, officials at all levels must give top priority to epidemic response.
Anyone who fails to perform their duties and responsibilities will be investigated and held to account immediately.
Dozens of local Chinese officials have lost their jobs after failing to prevent the latest spike of cases.
Over the weekend, the new daily Covid cases in mainland China remained above 1,000.
The first two deaths in the latest Covid wave were reported by Jilin. Compared with other countries, the number of new cases and deaths is low.
Even if Covid controls don't stop production completely, regions are affected by business disruptions and uncertainty.
All non-emergency vehicles are banned from local roads in Tangshan city, except for those that get special approval. Several districts ordered residents to stay home and told businesses to close.
There was no order for steel mills. Cailian reported that Tangshan's steel trade and logistics businesses had stopped work, while some producers had retained a few workers for basic production.
There were nine confirmed Covid cases this weekend.
Shenzhen, a tech and manufacturing city in southern China, has kept its ports open despite orders last week to stop other business activity.
Maersk said late last week that stricter road control between Shenzhen and nearby cities means trucking services in the area will likely be severely impacted by 40%.
There will be longer delivery time and a possible rise in transport costs.
Shenzhen reported over 80 new cases over the weekend. The city would resume normal operations and production on Monday after the authorities declared the outbreak controllable on Sunday.
It is not clear how normal life can be practiced. Anyone taking public transit has to show a negative test in the last 48 hours.
Non-essential businesses are to remain shut, the city said. Without making it clear whether businesses would allow employees to work from home, authorities told parents to help their children with online learning.
Local authorities in a southern manufacturing center emphasized the need for Covid control measures, including one policy per business.
The city-wide lock down that was announced last Tuesday is set to end at the end of Monday.
There were two new confirmed Covid cases over the weekend.
Authorities in China are trying to balance economic growth with Covid control and that's why they've taken one of the most targeted lockdown policies in the country. There were 41 new confirmed cases over the weekend.
The outbreak is taking a toll on businesses. The Disney Resort will be closed until further notice due to the swine flu.
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