China outbreak prompts major business shutdown

Beijing - China's economically important Zhejiang province wrestled yesterday with a Covid outbreak that has caused some districts to shut down businesses and left hundreds of thousands of people facing quarantine or other restrictions.

Zhejiang, a major industrial and export hub on the country's east coast, reported 44 of China's 51 domestically transmitted coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total since late last week to nearly 200.

Although Chinese case counts are miniscule compared to other major economies, officials in Zhejiang have employed the country's signature mass testing blitz and targeted lockdowns with concern high over fresh outbreaks as Beijing gears up to host the Winter Olympics in February.

More than 70 000 people have been placed under some form of isolation in the province while more than 465 000 face other restrictions, officials have said.

These may include health monitoring and bans on using public transportation or leaving their home districts.

WIDESPREAD IMPACT

The problems in the province come as Chinese media reported on Monday that the country's first case of the fast-spreading Omicron variant had been identified in the northern port city of Tianjin.

In recent days, districts in Ningbo - the province's main port - and the nearby city of Shaoxing said they were suspending some business operations.

Several publicly listed companies in Hangzhou, the province's capital and largest city, have also released statements saying they had suspended production.

Data from flight tracker VariFlight yesterday showed that hundreds of flights out of Hangzhou had been cancelled.

Zhejiang is one of China's leading provinces in terms of GDP and exports. – Nampa/AFP