As China continues to implement its zero tolerance policy in the face record number of symptomatic cases in Shanghai, more Chinese cities are now under COVID control.

Cities like Xian in northwestern China have had restrictions imposed. Suzhou is a city close to Shanghai.

Shanghai, the financial center of 26 million people, is currently under lockdown. Residents are prohibited from leaving their homes for several weeks.

China has strict rules that even mild or asymptomatic cases must be quarantined at centralised facilities. Many people have complained of poor conditions and are now unable to comply with them.

Employers encouraged to live at their work

People rely on the government for food delivery, but some are not able to get enough. This has led to small-scale protests.

Residents of Xian were urged not to travel outside their homes. Employees are encouraged to work remotely or to live in their offices.

The city will also stop serving food at restaurants, entertainment venues, cultural venues, and face-to-face classes between 16 and 19 April.

A Xian government official responded to concerns about possible food shortages by saying that the announcement didn’t constitute a lockdown, and that it would not impose one.

Employees have been asked to work remotely in Suzhou, where more than 500 cases of infection were reported in the latest outbreak.

Police dressed in hazmat suits were seen dispersing protestors against Shanghai’s harsh COVID laws.

Family separations and food shortages

President of China, Xi Jinping, stated that there should not be any pause in virus prevention and control efforts, while China would work to minimize the policy’s negative impact on economic and social development.

Shanghai reported Saturday a record number of 3,590 symptomatic and 19,923 asymptomatic cases on Friday, April 15.

The number of asymptomatic cases was slightly higher than the 19,872 cases one day earlier.

Many of the COVID Shanghai participants are held in large exhibition centers with little privacy, no showers and constant lights.

The country has taken a zero tolerance approach to the virus. However, domestic support has been waning in recent weeks due to food shortages and family divisions.

Sky News has been told by experts that Shanghai’s strict lockdown could also have “massive global consequences in the supply chain”.

Analysts believe that disruptions in supply chains could cause delays in shipment from Apple and affect the country’s economic growth.