China's Covid infection at alarming rise

China posted a steep jump in daily COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, with new cases more than doubling from a day earlier to hit a two-year high, raising concerns about the rising economic costs of its tough measures to contain the disease.

The worst Covid-19 outbreak since the initial wave of the pandemic worsened with a major factory city ordering production halts.

Recent outbreaks in 28 provinces have infected more than 15,000 people and stem primarily from the highly transmissible omicron variant, China’s National Health Commission said Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Dongguan city in the southern province of Guangdong ordered employees of businesses to work from home and locked down residential areas, permitting only necessary activities such as buying groceries and taking virus tests.

The total local case count for Monday in mainland China included 3,507 new confirmed Covid cases and 1,647 asymptomatic ones, mostly in the northern province of Jilin. That’s more than double from a day earlier.

On Tuesday, China’s bureau of statistics spokesperson downplayed the impact of the Covid-related restrictions on economic activity, after reporting better-than-expected data for January and February.

Yum China, which operates Pizza Hut and KFC in the country, announced Monday that same-store sales for the first two weeks of March have fallen by about 20% year-on-year.

Economists have said China’s zero-Covid policy using travel restrictions and neighborhood lockdowns to control outbreaks affects consumer spending more than manufacturing.

But the latest wave of cases surpasses the pockets of outbreaks China has dealt with since the height of the initial pandemic in early 2020.