Covid cases, controls spread in China

BEIJING — China’s Covid controls have tightened in the past two weeks after more cities reported virus outbreaks.

Restrictions on business and social activities affected 9.2% of China’s gross domestic product as of Thursday, up from 7% on Oct. 16, according to Nomura’s model.

“Since the 20th National Party Congress began on Oct. 16, the number of Covid cases in the country has clearly trended upward,” the company’s chief China economist Ting Lu and team said in a report on Thursday. “The lockdown situation across the country is … significantly worsening.”

On Thursday, mainland China reported 214 Covid cases with symptoms and 1,123 Covid cases without symptoms. Infections were reported in more than 20 of China’s 31 provincial-level regions.

As many outbreaks occur nationwide, infection in the capital is unavoidable Universal Beijing Resort temporarily closed from Wednesday. It was unclear if the resort would reopen in time for Halloween weekend.

apple Supplier Foxconn said Tuesday that its factory in Zhengzhou, China, Affected by a small Covid outbreak.

However, much of the recent outbreak and subsequent Covid control has occurred in less economically prominent parts of the country, such as Qinghai province and the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Nomura’s report also notes that some regions have not announced lockdown measures directly, making it difficult to assess the impact.