Amid covid surge, China worries: lockdowns influence economic transactions

China witnessed a high jump in daily Covid 19 infections on Tuesday, with doubling of cases just in a day, raised concerns about the rising economic costs of its tough measures to contain the disease.

The total count of the cases were 3,507 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms were reported on Monday across more than a dozen provinces and municipalities, while there were 1,337 cases reported a day earlier, the National Health Commission said. Most of the new cases were in the northeastern province of Jilin. 

Though China’s total number of cases seems to be the small count by global standards, health experts said the increase in daily infections over the next few weeks would be key to determine whether its “dynamic zero-COVID” approach, of containing each outbreak quickly as it arises, remains effective against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. 

We all know that China is a hub of technology manufacturers. The fact is also true that many raw materials for manufacturing technical goods are supplied from China.

Amid the Covid surge, manufactures of flash drives to glass for Apple’s iPhone screens are warning of shipment delays as they comply with China’s curbs against the Covid 19 widely spread infections, putting further strain on global supply chains.   

The sudden increase in infection cases has fueled concern over China’s growth prospects, helping to dent market sentiment, with its stocks closing at 21-month lows on Tuesday and oil prices running down to a two-week low. 

On Monday, Lanzhou University in China’s northwest predicted the current surge of infections will eventually be brought under control in early April after an accumulated total of about 35,000 cases.

The university said that while the latest outbreak was the most serious on the mainland since the virus was detected in Wuhan in 2020, China could bring it under control by sticking to stringent curbs. 

Clarifying that Shanghai, one of the wealthiest cities in China is not under lockdown, the city government said that, it does not need one “at the moment”, as it strives to minimize disruption to daily life.

The city will designate a few key areas where control will be further strengthened, while elsewhere people’s movement is to be reduced through measures such as staggered commuting or remote work, it added in a statement.

Including to that, buses and subways, marriage and funeral services will be suspended, and daily tests are recommended for some residents. 

Published By – Damandeep Singh
Edited By-Kritika Kashyap