A city located in the southwestern part of Sichuan province, Chengdu became the latest city to be subjected to a comprehensive travel restriction (lockdown) in China's efforts to implement a zero-Covid policy.
According to sources from local Chinese media, approximately 21 million people who live in the city of Chengdu were ordered to stay at home and only one representative was allowed to go out to buy necessities.
It was detailed that at exactly 6pm local time last Thursday, Chengdu residents began quarantine and mass screening tests will be held after the city recorded 157 new cases of infection.
In addition, any activity going out or entering Chengdu has been banned while schools are closed after health authorities said the situation in the city was 'very severe and complex'.
In the meantime, the comprehensive lockdown action has been made based on the Chinese government's 'zero-Covid policy' which is now also running in major cities such as Shenzhen and Dalian.
Although the implementation of the policy is seen to have successfully reduced the number of Covid infection cases in China, many have criticized the action because it has a profound impact on economic growth.
For the 2nd quarter (2Q) of this year, China's economic annual growth reading declined sharply from 4.8% to 0.4% lower than the market consensus forecast of 1.0%.
