Thread by @FLAHAULT

1/7 - “#COVID19 cases in China are spiralling towards record highs, forcing officials to again lock down large swaths of the country. [Reporting] 28,000 new Covid cases on Tuesday, with outbreaks in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing continuing to grow.”
ft.com/content/f724e3…

2/7 - “The country’s battle to suppress the virus has battered China’s economy, disrupting global supply chains and threatening world growth.”

3/7 - “Almost three years after Covid first hit the city of Wuhan, vaccination rates among vulnerable sections of China’s population lag those in many rich countries,while its continued use of lockdowns as a primary method of disease control has made it an international outlier.”

4/7 - “China is seeing a record level of lockdowns. It’s even a bit worse than during the [spring] Shanghai lockdown because so many cities are partially locked down. Covid restrictions have hit areas responsible for one-fifth of China’s gross domestic product.”

5/7 - “Beijing’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the capital faced “the most complex and challenging” environment since the start of the pandemic, while the city’s top official, Communist party secretary Yin Li,reaffirmed the country’s #ZeroCovid policy on Monday.”

6/7 - “Rising cases have required a growing number of apartment buildings in Beijing to be quarantined, putting local officials and residents under stress. Our capacity has been stretched.”

7/7 - “In Chongqing, another pandemic hotspot, the arrival on Monday of Sun Chunlan, a vice-premier known for her draconian approach to battling the pandemic, led to widespread panic shopping among residents, concerned about the potential for a tough Shanghai-style lockdown.”