Shanghai moves to second lockdown phase

Another 16 million people cannot cross their doorsteps except for a COVID-19 test as of Friday morning in western Shanghai while omicron variant BA.2 sweeps across the city. Lockdown was lifted on the east side of Shanghai for some, but several apartment complexes in the city of 26 million have been shuttered for a month with no guidance on when restrictions will lift. Compound doors have been locked from the outside, with meals being delivered to collection points. On Thursday, cases trended downward with about 4,500 new positive COVID-19 tests in Shanghai out of about 7,000 new cases in China, according to China’s National Health Commission.

How is this affecting business? Shanghai is one of China’s most internationally connected cities with many automakers. On Friday, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said the majority of its 167 member companies have reduced annual revenue projections and suffered from disrupted supply chains. Some companies avoided shutdown by operating in factory bubbles that employees were not allowed to leave. China’s overall manufacturing fell to a five-month low in March as Shanghai and other industrial centers locked down under the strict “zero-COVID” policies. 

Dig deeper: Listen to Anna Johansen Brown’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about whether strict lockdowns are an effective way to battle COVID-19.