A temporary isolation center in Shanghai in April. A two-month lockdown fueled psychological effects among residents that experts say will be long-lasting.The New York Times
Lockdown’s shadow over Shanghai
What’s next: Hanging over it all is a broader inability for the city to put the ordeal fully behind it, as China maintains its goal of completely eliminating the virus. Every district in Shanghai will be briefly locked down each weekend until the end of July for mass testing.
Despite Another Covid Surge in the U.S., Deaths Stay Near Lows
The coronavirus’s pattern has changed, with most Americans now carrying some immune protection, whether from vaccines, infection or both, experts said.
China, the last country trying to eliminate Covid, has made mass testing a permanent feature of daily life. In many major cities, even places without reported cases, residents must show negative P.C.R. tests in order to shop, ride public transit and participate in other activities.
Officials hope the regular mass testing will help isolate cases before they spiral into bigger outbreaks. But the policy could hamper efforts to revive China’s economy.
Workers say the time required to get tested is cutting into their pay. Local governments are taking money from poverty alleviation projects to pay for testing. Businesses are concerned that the requirement will hurt productivity, and economists worry people will stay home to avoid the bother.
Response: Barely two weeks after Shanghai lifted its two-month lockdown, the authorities placed millions of people under new lockdowns, setting off scattered protests. The city has said that it will start charging residents for tests in August.
Hong Kong health experts say focus should shift to severity of Covid cases, as Omicron subvariants spread
The Centre for Health Protection said it had not noted any continuous increase in the rates of death, hospitalisation or severe diseases, which could be related to a high level of herd immunity among Hongkongers.
but warned that people’s immunity after infection may wane within three to four months, and they should still receive vaccinations.
新增68,347例COVID-19確定病例，分別為68,311例本土及36例境外移入