China's Zero-Covid Policy Breached As It Faces Massive Covid OutBreak

Just when the world was opening due to the Covid-19 and Omicron variant infections continuously decreasing, China reports a massive spike in the daily Coronavirus infections in two years. The health officials reported 3,100 cases in different parts of the country, including Beijing on Sunday. As the Covid-19 cases in China hit a two-year high, a few local authorities say the surge in cases is due to the Omicron variant-induced infections. 
According to the National Health Commission, the country reported 1,000 new infections daily on Friday and Saturday in a row but on Sunday the infections surged to more than 3,100 forcing the authorities to put the Shenzen city under lockdown as part of zero-tolerance Covid strategy.

Snap Lockdown

Seventeen million people of Shenzen, which is a tech hub and known for making iPhones, began their first full day under lockdown. The health authorities have sealed off the communities and villages while suspending the bus and metro services from Monday to Sunday. 

#Shenzhen will suspend bus and Metro services across the city between Monday and March 20, the city’s #COVID19 prevention and control command office announced this evening. #StaySafeStayHealthyhttps://t.co/Ejhe1TMMg4 pic.twitter.com/xJAmibHnac

— Shenzhen Daily (@szdaily1) March 13, 2022

Stay-at-home Orders

The authorities in Shanghai, China's largest city in an attempt to avoid a blanket lockdown, have sealed off certain residential areas and offices in some neighbourhoods. After reporting 1,000 new cases for the second day in a row, at least fives cities in the province have been put under lockdown since the beginning of March. While the nine million residents of Changchun city were ordered to stay at home since Friday. 

It may be noted here China has so far managed to control sporadic Covid outbreaks through a combination of snap lockdown, mass testing and travel restriction, it seems Beijing cannot relax its zero-Covid policy just yet.