Shenzhen to adopt tiered COVID measures

A medical worker takes a swab sample from a man for nucleic acid test in Sanya, south China's Hainan province, Aug 26, 2022. (GUO CHENG / XINHUA)

BEIJING/SHANGHAI – The Chinese mainland’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen said it will adopt tiered anti-virus restriction measures starting on Monday, while the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu announced an extension of lockdown curbs, as the country grapples with fresh outbreaks.

Shenzhen, which went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday, announced a new round of COVID-19 testing, and vowed to "marshal all available resources, mobilize all forces, and take all possible measures" to stamp out the pandemic.

Shenzhen, which went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday, announced a new round of COVID-19 testing, and vowed to "marshal all available resources, mobilize all forces, and take all possible measures" to stamp out the pandemic

Separately, Chengdu, which placed its 21 million people under lockdown on Thursday, said the city will keep curbs in place for most of the city, and will conduct more mass testing from Monday to Wednesday.

In Shenzen, a city of 18 million people, an official said the risks were still considerable.

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"Currently, the city's COVID situation is severe and complex. The number of new infections remains relatively high and community transmission risk still exists," Lin Hancheng, a Shenzhen public health official, told a news conference late on Sunday.

The city reported 89 new locally transmitted COVID infections for Sept 3, compared with 87 a day earlier.

Three-tier management

Based on the results of the weekend testing, Shenzhen will classify its areas into three categories, reflecting low, medium, and high risk of infection, Lin said.

In areas deemed low risk, the city will remove restrictions that confined much of its population to residential compounds over the weekend, though lockdowns will remain in place in 'high' and 'medium' risk neighborhoods.

In areas where infections were found, temporary restrictions would be prolonged for three days.

Major districts of Futian, Nanshan and Longhua said that entertainment centers like cinemas and KTVS would remain closed, and restaurants would allow dining in at half capacity.

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The Nanyuan neighborhood of the Futian District will continue to be treated as a medium-risk area due to the relatively high number of positive cases detected, Lin said.

Separately, Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province, said it will continue to impose COVID lockdown curbs in most of the city.

Even in two areas where life is allowed to come back to normal – Xinjin District and Qionglai City – indoor dining will continued to be banned, while public activities such as conferences and performances will be strictly restricted.

The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 303 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 105 were in Sichuan and 64 in Tibet, the National Health Commission said Monday.

Altogether 1,249 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified on Sunday, including 452 in Tibet, 162 in Heilongjiang, 95 in Qinghai and 93 in Liaoning, said the commission in its report.

READ MORE: Mainland reports 314 new confirmed local COVID-19 cases

A total of 320 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 233,604. Sunday saw no new deaths from COVID-19, with the total death toll remaining at 5,226.