Sharjah24 – AFP: China reported more than 20,000 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest daily tally given since the start of the pandemic as millions in locked-down Shanghai began a new round of testing.
The country's "zero-Covid" strategy has come under immense strain as cases spike, with around 25 million residents of Shanghai -- China's largest city and economic engine room -- ordered to stay at home as the authorities struggle to contain the outbreak.
Until March, China had kept daily cases low with snap localised lockdowns, mass testing, and strict restrictions on international travel.
But the caseload has hit thousands per day in recent weeks, with Shanghai driving the surge of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
The city locked down in phases last week and complaints have swelled online of fresh food shortages caused by logistics disruptions and panic buying, which has left many residents waking early to try to beat the queues on grocery apps.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that the city will launch a fresh round of tests on the entire population on Wednesday.
Shanghai's "prevention and control situation is very severe," National Health Commission official Lei Zhenglong said Wednesday, adding the outbreak is still "in its peak phase."
It was the latest dour warning suggesting a long run in lockdown may be ahead, while city health officials have converted a convention centre into a makeshift Covid hospital for 40,000 people.
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