China reports highest daily new COVID-19 cases since February 2020

Police and security personnel in protective suits stand outside cordoned food stores following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Shanghai, China, March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Song/ File photo

BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Sunday reported a total of 13,287 new daily cases on April 2, the highest level since February 2020, mostly in the country’s northeastern Jilin Province and financial hub Shanghai that effectively shut down the entire financial hub. city.

On Sunday, the National Health Authority said the country reported 1,506 confirmed cases of coronavirus the previous day, down from 2,129 the day before.

But the number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, jumped to 11,781 on Saturday from 7,869 the day before.

Of the new confirmed cases, 1,455 were locally transmitted, with 956 detected from Jilin and 438 from Shanghai.

Shanghai, of 25 million people, will conduct a citywide antigen test on Sunday and a mass nucleic acid test on Monday, a senior official from the Shanghai Health Authority said at a press conference on Sunday.

“The main task is to completely eliminate the danger points and cut the transmission chain so that we can curb the spread of the epidemic as quickly as possible,” said Wu Qianyu, an inspector from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

On Saturday, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan also urged the city of Shanghai to “take resolute and rapid steps” to curb the epidemic.

The city is scrambling to stem the outbreak by imposing a two-stage lockdown, prompting manufacturers to halt operations and causing heavy congestion at the port of Shanghai, the world’s largest container hub. Read more

“Operation in Shanghai Port is stable and orderly,” the Shanghai Port Group said in a statement.

Refinitiv data showed that congestion off Shanghai for containers and oil tankers has eased since March 31, but the number of mega ships queuing at the mouth of the outer Yangtze River estuary has jumped to nearly 90, the highest level since early October 2021.

A sharp increase in ships waiting at ports near Shanghai, such as Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, has also been recorded, as some companies diverted shipments to avoid long logistical shifts.

Additional reporting by Moyo Shu, Tina Chiao and Brenda Goh; Editing by Simon Cameron Moore and Stephen Coates

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