China: Mass protests against lockdown amid surge in coronavirus cases

Her government seems to be under considerable pressure China due to the lockdown that has been imposed in several areas amid the outbreak of coronavirus cases, as protesters took to the streets, expressing their anger.

It all started with last Thursday’s deadly wildfire in northwest China’s Xinjiang province. Ten people died in the fire that broke out in a high-rise apartment complex in the city of Urumqithe capital of Xinjiang region, and amany speculate that the victims were unable to leave the burning building in time because they were under quarantinea version denied by local officials.

In the financial center of Shanghai, scores of residents gathered Saturday night for a vigil in memory of the victims of the deadly fire in Urumqi, which turned into an angry protest in the early hours of Sunday morning. “Lift the lockdown in Urumqi, lift the lockdown in Xinjiang, lift the lockdown across China” the crowd shouted, according to a video posted on social media.

The coming weeks could be China’s worst since the start of the pandemic, both for the economy and the country’s health system, according to Capital Economics analyst Mark Williams.

Authorities in Shenzhen, a metropolis of 12 million people, announced today that they will limit the occupancy of restaurants and other indoor spaces to 50% as part of measures to combat the pandemic. Visitors to this southern Chinese city will not be allowed to enter venues such as theaters and gyms for the first three days of their arrival, the statement said.

For the fourth consecutive 24 hours, China recorded a record number of SARS-CoV-2 cases in 24 hours, reaching 39,791. In the last 24 hours, one death was reported due to complications of Covid-19, with the total number of victims of the pandemic reaching 5,233 out of a total of 307,802 cases with symptoms of the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to the official tally of the Chinese authorities.