BEIJING, March 22, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - China locked down an industrial city
of nine million people overnight and reported more than 4,000 virus cases on
Tuesday, as the nation's "zero-Covid" strategy is confronted by an Omicron
wave.

   Health authorities reported 4,770 new infections across the country, the
bulk in the northeastern province of Jilin, as the city of Shenyang in
neighbouring Liaoning province was ordered to lock down late Monday.

   China has moved fast in recent weeks to snuff out virus clusters with a
pick-and-mix of hyper-local lockdowns, mass testing and citywide closures. It
reported two Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, the first in over a year.

   Authorities have warned of the risk posed to growth by persistent
lockdowns as the country strives to balance the health crisis with the needs
of the world's second biggest economy.

   Shenyang, an industrial base home to factories including carmaker BMW,
reported 47 new cases Tuesday as authorities put all housing compounds under
"closed management" and barred residents from leaving without a 48-hour
negative test result.

   Last week Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to "minimise the
impact" of the pandemic on China's economy, but also urged officials to
"stick to" the current zero-Covid approach.

   But Beijing's virus playbook has been stretched to the limit by the latest
Omicron surge, which has forced authorities to free up hospital beds from
mild-symptom patients.

   Some cities such as Shanghai have avoided a full lockdown and instead
imposed a web of individual building lockdowns, even as new daily
asymptomatic infections there spiral into the hundreds.

   Jilin provincial officials announced Monday that the first 10,000 doses of
Pfizer's oral Covid drug arrived on Sunday, marking the first time Paxlovid
has been used in China.

   The province last week imposed strict travel curbs banning locals from
leaving their cities and counties, while several cities have already confined
residents at home.

   The southern tech powerhouse of Shenzhen on Monday announced it would lift
its week-long lockdown "in an orderly manner", after having partially eased
measures on Friday to minimise the impact of virus shutdowns on factories and
ports.

   Health officials last week revealed only around half of Chinese aged over
80 have been double-vaccinated, as the spectre of Hong Kong's dire Covid
mortality rates -- mainly among the unvaccinated elderly -- hangs over
Beijing's decision making.