Shanghai vows to punish COVID lockdown violators as cases top 25,000

SHANGHAI, April 13 (Reuters) – China’s commercial capital Shanghai warned on Wednesday that anyone who violates COVID-19 lockdown rules will be dealt with strictly, while urging citizens to defend their city as they that the count of new cases recovered to more than 25,000.

The city’s police department detailed the restrictions facing most of the city’s 25 million residents, urging them to “fight the epidemic with one heart…and work together for an early victory.”

“Those who violate the provisions of this notice will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law by public security organs… If it constitutes a crime, they will be investigated in accordance with the law,” the department said in a statement.

The financial hub is under great pressure to try to contain China’s biggest COVID outbreak since the coronavirus was first discovered in the city of Wuhan, some 800 km (500 miles) to the west, in late 2019.

Shanghai police have also warned increasingly frustrated residents, millions of whom are confined to their homes and struggling to obtain daily supplies, not to spread false information or forge road passes or other clearance certificates.

Residents struggling to secure their food delivery slots are also facing rising prices that the government wants to keep in check.

Peng Wenhao, an official with the Shanghai market supervision bureau, told reporters that authorities had issued 38,000 warning letters against price gouging and were also investigating allegations of irregular pricing on social media.

“If illegal acts such as price gouging occur, it will be firmly and quickly investigated and punished,” he said.

The police also banned cars from driving on the streets except those involved in epidemic prevention or transporting people in need of emergency medical treatment.

Shanghai’s Dragon TV, run by the state-owned Shanghai Media Group, said it would cancel a gala to commemorate the fight against COVID scheduled to air on Wednesday, after the event drew an outpouring of criticism on social media.

Outraged members of the public expressed their anger at what they saw as a waste of resources in staging the gala at a time of crisis. One accused the organizers of “showing off.”

‘SIGNIFICANT INTERRUPTION’

Shanghai reported 25,141 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on Tuesday, up from 22,348 a day earlier, with symptomatic cases also rising from 994 to 1,189, city authorities said.

Shanghai’s COVID measures, reflecting China’s strict “COVID zero” approach aimed at eliminating chains of transmission, have weighed on the global economy, with analysts warning they were not only hurting tourism and hospitality, but they also had an impact on supply chains in all sectors.

Imports last month fell for the first time since August 2020, data showed on Wednesday, with COVID restrictions hampering cargo arrivals and weakening demand. read more

“Widespread lockdown and tighter zero-COVID restrictions in several cities around Shanghai have caused major supply disruptions with transport and logistics under heavy pressure,” Barclays Bank economist Jian Chang said in a note.

At least 11 Taiwanese companies, mostly making parts for electronics, said on Wednesday they were suspending production due to China’s disruption of COVID controls. read more

Chang said economic and supply pressures “have likely accelerated the transition to a gradual and cautious zero-COVID existence.”

Media group Caixin reported that Shanghai was one of eight cities involved in a pilot plan launched on Monday to cut centralized quarantine requirements from 14 days to 10 days, citing a government plan that has not been formally announced.

A staff member at a quarantine hotel in the city of Xiamen said the hotel had been selected for a 10-day quarantine trial, but staff at several other hotels in the city and one in Shanghai said they had not been notified. of no change. read more

Relevant authorities were not immediately available to comment on the report.

Reporting by David Stanway, Winni Zhou, Stella Qiu, David Kirton, and the Shanghai Staff; Edited by Robert Birsell

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.