A man is swabbed for Covid in Beijing in June
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)China has placed millions of people back into lockdown restrictions after outbreaks of Covid in its southern cities.
Tight restrictions were placed on the city of Guangzhou - home to nearly 19 million residents - on Wednesday, despite it recording just five locally transmitted infections on Tuesday.
China’s “dynamic Covid zero” policy saw authorities order certain areas of one district to close indoor entertainment venues and dining at restaurants until Saturday.
The city, near Hong Kong, also ordered all nurseries and schools in the district to delay returning for the autumn term, and to halt offline sessions that have already started, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
Bus and subway services in the district were also reduced.
Guangzhou joins the city of Shenzhen in battling local flare-ups - together, two of southern China’s most economically vibrant metropolises.
In Shenzhen, at least four districts with a total of around nine million residents, have already ordered closure of entertainment and cultural businesses and halted or reduced restaurant dining for a few days.
The combined economic output of Shenzhen and Guangzhou reached the equivalent of £732 billion last year, equal to about half of South Korea's gross domestic product.
In a bid to balance economic needs with efforts to contain Covid outbreaks, authorities said the curbs would last for just a few days, although some smaller cities extended restrictions earlier this month.
China’s so-called “dynamic Covid zero” policy makes it an outlier as other countries gradually emerge from coronavirus restrictions, despite the cost to the world’s second-largest economy that already faced slower growth.
According to Capital Economics, 41 cities, responsible for 32 per cent of China's GDP, are currently in the midst of outbreaks - the highest number since April.
"For now, the resulting disruption appears modest, but the threat of damaging lockdowns is growing," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics.
"And even if they are avoided, we expect growth to remain subdued going forward."
