COVID-19 situation in China continues to heat up

Beijing [China], March 22 (ANI): The COVID-19 pandemic situation in China continues to heat up as more than 20 provinces and cities have imposed travel bans and lockdowns.
The pandemic situation in Jilin and Shanghai has deteriorated, and the situation of closed management and control has frequently been imposed to contain the virus, reported local media.
The situation in more than 20 provinces and cities including Jilin, Hebei, Guangdong, and Shanghai has deteriorated.
Shanghai is totally closed and controlled, and many people are caught in the predicament of survival.
Residents of Xinchang Town, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, escape from the containment zone to buy vegetables, reported the local media.
Authorities in Shenyang, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, began to implement closed management of communities and villages on Tuesday in a bid to contain the local COVID-19 outbreak.
As of Monday, the city of Shenyang had reported 241 local positive cases, including 94 confirmed cases and 147 asymptomatic carriers, in the latest outbreak, reported Xinhua.
China is facing mounting pressure to guard against infections amid a recent surge in cases throughout the country.
Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that Beijing will stick to its "zero Covid-19" policy, days after National Health Commission (NHC) released new guidelines easing its control measures.
NHC had uploaded a new document on its website. Titled the Novel Coronavirus Diagnosis And Treatment Plan, it was the ninth revision to a document setting out COVID-19 policy for the country of 1.4 billion.
China's zero-COVID policy is pushing cash-strapped local governments to the brink amid rising health care costs and efforts to control debt.
Analysts said that the local governments in China are facing a growing financial burden to meet Beijing's hardline zero-COVID strategy, according to a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG).
China is battling its biggest virus surge in two years and numerous cities have imposed travel bans and lockdowns, including tech hub Shenzhen, which have shaken economic stability and global supply chains.
China has clung to a zero-tolerance approach to the virus that relies on stringent lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine in government facilities. (ANI)