HONG KONG—Beijing said it is at a critical point in its efforts to halt a Covid-19 outbreak in the city, as new cases spread from school students and a tour group, while deaths in Shanghai more than tripled from a day earlier.
The Chinese capital recorded 22 new cases on Sunday, its highest daily tally this year. Shanghai, which a week ago had recorded no new deaths in the latest wave of infections, said 39 Covid patents died Saturday—more than three times Friday’s toll.
While still low by global standards, the latest numbers are a challenge to the ability of China’s top leaders to wipe out outbreaks with their zero-Covid policy. As pockets of infections flare up in the country’s most important cities, local officials are desperate to avoid a repeat of the economic disruption and growing public discontent seen in the financial hub of Shanghai, large parts of which have been under lockdown for weeks.
But the Chinese leadership has vowed to stick to their zero-Covid strategy, which has helped regions such as Jilin province successfully contain the virus after six weeks of lockdowns, they said. The northeastern province is the hardest-hit region after Shanghai. Cases have also been rising the past week in Jiangsu and Hebei, the provinces surrounding Shanghai and Beijing.
As Shanghai remains locked down amid China’s biggest Covid-19 outbreak, residents are taking to social media to vent about a shortage of food or they’re bartering with neighbors. Anxiety and hunger are prompting many to question Beijing’s pandemic strategy. Photo: Chinatopix Via AP
In Beijing, the infections included several cases in a middle school in Chaoyang District, and three family…
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