China has locked down an industrial city of 9 million people overnight and reported more than 4,000 new cases of the COVID-19 virus, as the nation's "zero-COVID" strategy was implemented to halt an Omicron outbreak.
Health authorities reported 4,770 new infections across the nation, the bulk in the north-eastern province of Jilin, as the city of Shenyang in neighbouring Liaoning province was ordered to lock down late on Monday.
In Jilin, another city of nine million — Changchun — was ordered into lockdown earlier this month.
China has moved fast in recent weeks to snuff out virus clusters with a pick-and-mix of hyper-local lockdowns, mass testing and citywide closures.
It reported two COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, its first in more than a year.
Authorities warned of the risk posed to growth by persistent lockdowns as the country strives to balance the health crisis with the needs of the world's second-biggest economy.
Shenyang — an industrial base home to factories, including car-maker BMW — reported 47 new cases on Tuesday as authorities put all housing compounds under "closed management" and barred residents from leaving without a 48-hour negative test result.
'Minimise the impact'
Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to "minimise the impact" of the pandemic on China's economy, but also urged officials to "stick to" the current zero-COVID approach.
But Beijing's virus playbook has been stretched to the limit by the latest Omicron surge, which has forced authorities to free up hospital beds from mild-symptom patients.
Some cities, such as Shanghai, have avoided a full lockdown and, instead, imposed a web of individual building lockdowns, even as new daily asymptomatic infections there spiral into the hundreds.
Jilin provincial officials announced on Monday that the first 10,000 doses of Pfizer's oral COVID-19 drug arrived on Sunday, marking the first time Paxlovid has been used in China.
The province last week imposed strict travel curbs, banning locals from leaving their cities and counties, while several cities have already confined residents at home.
On Monday, the southern tech powerhouse city of Shenzhen announced it would lift its week-long lockdown "in an orderly manner", after having partially eased measures on Friday to minimise the impact of virus shutdowns on factories and ports.
Health officials last week revealed only around half of Chinese older than 80 years have been double-vaccinated, as the spectre of Hong Kong's dire COVID-19 mortality rates — mainly among the unvaccinated elderly — hangs over Beijing's decision-making.
'Refuse quarantine'
Mass lockdowns and repeated mandatory testing have led to growing frustrations throughout China.
In footage shared on social media last week, a crowd of people in Shenyang banged against the windows of a clothing market as they shouted in frustration at the announcement of yet another round of COVID-19 tests.
Others have voiced frustrations on Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo.
"Refuse quarantine!" said one.
"It's actually over," said a netizen posting on WeChat under the username "Jasmine Tea".
"The common cold is more serious than this! The testing agencies want this to go on. The vaccine companies want to inoculate forever."
Residents have also complained about the arbitrary nature of the rules, as well as the unchecked power of the neighbourhood residential committees responsible for enforcing them.
In Beijing, one family said their residential committee was about to install a monitoring device on their apartment door to ensure they complied with an order to stay home for two weeks.
The order came after a family member entered a supermarket that had been visited two days before by a confirmed COVID-19 case.
In Shanghai, residents were also bewildered by the uneven testing standards and lockdown thresholds imposed by apartment blocks and compounds across the city.
However, China's policies have caused more than mere inconvenience, with netizens increasingly willing to discuss how lockdowns have led to tragedy.
A widely shared post on Weibo last week reported that a patient undergoing chemotherapy at the Shanghai Cancer Hospital died while locked down in her lodgings next to the hospital.
In posts since deleted, bereaved citizens also shared stories about the death of loved ones caused by COVID-related disruptions.
"My dad died of a stroke at the end of last year," said one, posting under the name MaDDNa.
"There was some hope of treatment. Unfortunately, we had to wait for a nucleic acid test report and missed the best treatment time."
ABC/wires
