Dynamic Covid clearance policy must continue: Xi

BEIJING: China’s financial hub Shanghai on Thursday reported over 27,000 Covid-19 cases including 2,573 symptomatic infections, a record number for a day, as President Xi Jinping said that the country must continue with its strict “dynamic Covid clearance” policy and pandemic control measures.

The mainland Covid-19 numbers were also the highest: 29,317 cases including 2,999 symptomatic cases, according to the national health commission’s (NHC) daily bulletin released on Thursday morning.

Shanghai’s 25 million residents continue to battle the worst Omicron-drive Covid-19 outbreak with a massive majority still locked down, some for three-to-four weeks since March.

Lockdown restrictions have only been partially eased in some localities, which have not reported fresh cases for two weeks. The municipal health commission of Shanghai said on Thursday that the city currently has nine Covid-19 patients in severe condition since the resurgence of the epidemic in March.

“Eight of the severe cases are older people aged between 70 and 93, the commission said, adding that all of them had highrisk factors such as serious underlying diseases, and none of them were vaccinated against Covid-19,” the official news agency, Xinhua reported.

Chances of further easing of the lockdown seemed to have waned after Xi called for sticking to current Covid-containing policies.

Speaking during a visit to south China’s Hainan island, Xi, quoted by Chinese-state controlled radio, indicated there would be no immediate change of approach in pandemic control measures.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong confirmed on Thursday it will ease some of the world’s most stringent Covid-19 restrictions, allowing beauty parlours, cinemas and gyms to reopen from April 21 as infections in the global financial hub hover below 2,000 per day.

CDC extends travel mask requirement to May 3

The US administration has announced that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for airplanes and public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in Covid-19 cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was extending the order, which was to expire on April 18, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 Omicron subvariant that is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the US.

With inputs from agencies

Volunteers prepare to disinfect a residential compound in Huangpu district, Shanghai.