BEIJING—Frustration simmered on Friday among residents and business groups in China navigating stricter COVID-19 control curbs as the country reported another record high of daily infections just weeks after hopes had been raised of easing measures.
The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in China, with 32,695 new local infections recorded for Thursday as numerous cities report outbreaks, has prompted widespread lockdowns and other curbs on movement and business, as well as pushback.
The actual number of COVID-19 cases may be much higher. China’s COVID-19 data is difficult to verify, as the Chinese communist regime routinely suppresses or alters information.
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) COVID-19 response is taking a mounting toll on China’s economy, and on Friday its central bank made a widely-anticipated move of support, cutting the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves. This releases 500 billion yuan ($69.8 billion) in long-term liquidity.
The announcement of the 20 measures, just as rising cases prompted an increasingly heavy response under China’s strict zero-COVID approach, has caused widespread confusion and uncertainty in big cities, including Beijing, where many residents are locked down at home.
Many analysts expect a significant easing of the coronavirus curbs only from next March or April at the earliest.
At the world’s largest iPhone factory in the central city of Zhengzhou, more than 20,000 new hires have left after COVID-related worker unrest this week, further imperiling output at Apple supplier Foxconn’s plant there, Reuters reported.
References to a speech by a man in the southwestern city of Chongqing who called for the CCP to admit its mistakes on COVID-19 were shared widely on Chinese social media.
“Give me liberty or death,” the bespectacled man told onlooking residents in an impassioned speech on Thursday, according to videos seen by Reuters.
“There is only one disease in the world and that is being both poor and not having freedom,” he added. “We have now got both. We’re still struggling and suffering over a little cold.”
The man was later seen being bundled towards a police car by security personnel, prompting angry shouts from onlookers.
Hashtags related to the man, who netizens have called “Chongqing’s superman brother” or “Chongqing hero,” were censored on Friday. But individual users continued to show support by posting subtle messages or cartoon pictures of him.
As lockdowns afflict more people, some are proposing alternative approaches. In Beijing, residents of some compounds shared on WeChat proposals for how infected neighbors could quarantine at home if they did not display serious symptoms.
It’s not clear whether such initiatives would succeed.
Notices listing the circumstances under which health workers may remove a person from their home, aimed at educating people of their rights if asked to be taken to a quarantine center, were also circulated online.
