Shanghai under 'city lockdown' reports over 13,000 new COVID-19 cases, highest ever recorded

Published 05 Apr.2022 09:33(KST)

Updated 05 Apr.2022 09:49(KST)

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] More than 13,000 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Shanghai, China, where a full city lockdown was decided to respond to the pandemic.

On the 4th (local time), Bloomberg News cited an announcement from the Shanghai government, reporting 13,354 new confirmed cases that day. This figure is a sharp increase compared to 9,006 cases the previous day and represents a rapid deterioration compared to the near-zero levels seen earlier this month. Among the confirmed cases, 13,086 were asymptomatic infections.

This scale of new confirmed cases is the first since COVID-19 initially broke out in Wuhan in early 2020. The worsening COVID-19 situation in Shanghai, China’s largest economic city and home to its largest port, is raising concerns about significant damage to the Chinese economy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to reduce the economic and social impacts caused by COVID-19 response measures. However, Bloomberg reports that the sharp increase in cases in Shanghai has led to a rush in purchasing food supplies, causing local food prices to soar, and chronic patients are facing difficulties in obtaining treatment and essential goods.