COVID lockdowns are ticking up in China again, with neighbourhoods in key port cities such as Shenzhen and Dalian forced back home this week, and mass testing underway at other important maritime gateways including Tianjin.
There is no letup in the government’s zero-COVID policy, which has stretched global supply chains a great deal this year. The difference today is that, while outbreaks have been getting more widespread in the last fortnight, lockdowns are pursued neighbourhood by neighbourhood rather than city-wide, and quarantine times have been cut back since the middle of June, according to analysis from research firm Gavekal Dragonomics.
Nevertheless, the quickening spread of the omicron variant has some analysts concerned.
At a news conference Monday, Shenzhen officials said the latest outbreak is mainly driven by new subvariant Omicron BF.15, which they said is more transmittable and harder to detect.
Read more in an article from Splash.