Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Shenzhen , a megacity in southern China, pledged to "mobilise all resources" to stop a COVID-...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Shenzhen, a megacity in southern China, pledged to "mobilise all resources" to stop a COVID-19 outbreak, mandating stringent testing, temperature monitoring, and lockdowns for COVID-affected buildings.
With a population of around 18 million, Shenzhen recorded 22 new domestically transmitted cases on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the daily count had been in the single digits.
The sluggish increase has forced the Shenzhen authorities to increase monitoring in order to adhere to the central government's "dynamic zero" policy of suppressing outbreaks as soon as they arise, even though the caseload is still insignificant by global standards.
Shenzhen has not imposed strict restrictions on people's freedom of movement or forced the closure of all enterprises, but it has locked residential compounds and buildings that have been deemed to be more dangerous. To prevent needless economic disturbance, officials have been instructed to aim their anti-virus efforts more precisely.
Shenzhen will "mobilise all resources and adopt all measures to immediately reduce the possibility of a community spread in important regions, forcefully cut transmission networks, and contain the outbreak as quickly as possible," according to Meng Fanli, leader of the city's Communist Party.
Meng also issued a warning that the municipal government will severely penalise officials for any carelessness that led to the virus spreading in a statement released late on Wednesday.
13 of the 22 local illnesses discovered on Wednesday were located in Shenzhen's Nanshan district, which is home to IT behemoths Tencent and DJI.
When caseloads began to rise from the low double-digits in March, Shenzhen instituted a week of so-called "slow living," during which residents underwent a series of tests and spent the majority of their time at home, with one person from each household permitted to leave the house every few days for essentials.
That lockdown was milder than Wuhan's in 2020 and one of the shortest among COVID-affected cities with populations more than 10 million.
Employees in Shenzhen were instructed to work from home or from secured campuses while buses, subways, and non-essential enterprises were shut down.
The National Health Commission announced on Thursday that mainland China, including Shenzhen, recorded 826 new local COVID cases for July 20, of which 148 were symptomatic and 678 were asymptomatic.
Another two districts in the northern port city of Tianjin with a combined population of more than 1 million have suspended a variety of entertainment venues in response to comparable COVID limitations announced on Monday in two districts with a combined population of more than 2 million.
There were no more fatalities, bringing the total for the country to 5,226.
Since the pandemic started in December 2019, mainland China had confirmed 228,180 patients with symptoms, including both local cases and those among travellers from abroad.
