Shanghai, the new Covid hotspot of China

As the number of daily cases surpassed 4,400, Shanghai, China’s most populated city, tightened the first phase of a two-stage Covid-19 lockdown on Tuesday, ordering certain citizens to remain indoors unless they are being tested.

In March, the BA.2 strain of the highly infectious Omicron was thought to be spreading quickly in some regions of Europe and China, raising new fears about a global surge in Covid infections. This month has seen an increase in Covid cases in France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Asia, the situation appears to be stabilising in Hong Kong, the region’s financial centre.

Here are the global updates on Covid:

1. According to Reuters, Hong Kong recorded 7,685 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, as infections in the global financial centre progressively stabilised for the first time following the recent Omicron drive increase.
2. According to Reuters, almost 4,400 new cases were filed in Shanghai, mainland China’s most major international metropolis, on Monday, setting a new high. With a new lockdown, the city is seeing the toughest constraints in over two years.
3. According to Bloomberg, the Shanghai government is allowing certain factories to operate ‘closed loop systems,’ in which staff continue to work as long as they are confined within or near the industrial campus and follow mitigating measures.

4. While the rest of the globe is dealing with a new rise, India is seeing a declining trend. On Monday, the United States reduced Covid-19 travel ratings for India and a few other nations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it has altered its Covid travel advice for India from ‘Level 3: High risk’ to ‘Level 2: Low risk.’
5. According to French health officials, the number of patients hospitalised for Covid in the previous 24 hours has increased by 467 to 21,073. According to statistics, this is the biggest daily increase of Covid-19 hospitalizations in France since February 1.
6. Over 90,000 new cases have been registered in Italy in just two days as the country confronts an Omicron-driven spike. According to the country’s health ministry, Italy reported 30,710 Covid-19-related illnesses on Monday, up from 59,555 the day before.
7. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tested positive for Covid-19. “He feels great and will work while self-isolating at home,” according to his staff.
8. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated on Monday that he did not agree with a planned intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccinations since patents are an important method to encourage corporations to continue investing in innovative research.
9. According to some researchers, vaccination inequality is to blame for the periodic spike of Covid cases.
10. The WHO has been repeatedly warning that the pandemic is far from over.