Coronavirus Lockdowns Extended in China, Stoking Global Recession Fears

The Chinese mega-city of Chengdu extended its week-long coronavirus lockdown on Thursday, trapping some 16 million of the city’s residents in quarantine indefinitely. Many other Chinese cities remain under lockdown or travel restrictions, making prospects grim for this weekend’s Mid-Autumn Festival, which is usually one of China’s biggest travel, tourism, and shopping holidays.

Chengdu went under lockdown, with characteristically minimal warning, on September 1. Officials announced a plan to test most of the population over the following four days, but the lockdown remained in effect.

City residents hoped for a reprieve after the latest round of mass testing on Wednesday, but those hopes were dashed when the authorities claimed they found 116 new infections. The lockdown was extended for at least another week over most of Chengdu, save for a few districts that were deemed safe to reopen.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province, which was also hit by heatwaves, droughts, forest fires, and an earthquake over the past few weeks. Chengdu residents complained on social media that when they tried to evacuate their buildings during the magnitude 6.8 earthquake on Monday, they found the fire exits had been sealed under coronavirus lockdown orders.

“I’m concerned the lockdown will be further extended. Many people aren’t taking it seriously. In some neighborhoods, people secretly meet up to play mah-jong, while some refuse to do the tests scheduled early in the morning,” one nervous resident told Reuters on Thursday.

Reuters cited data from a Japanese bank that said 49 cities in China remained under “various levels of lockdown or control measures” as of Thursday, with a total population of 291.7 million people — a hefty increase over the 161.3 million citizens that were under restrictions last week. Slightly over 20% of China’s immense population is now under travel restriction and lockdown orders.

The outlook for the upcoming holiday is bleak, as Chinese health officials urged the public to celebrate in place and “minimize travel to other cities.” Those who attempt to travel were told to expect rigorous coronavirus testing upon arrival.

Foreign business operations in China are caught up in the lockdowns, including the Apple data center in the quarantined city of Guiyang. The Chinese state-controlled firm that manages the data center published a notice on Thursday that said many of its employees are trapped inside the factory under “closed-loop management” rules, and have not seen their families in at least a week. 

“Faced with a dire situation, we need courageous people on the front lines!” Apple’s Chinese partner told its captive employees.

Oil prices fell on Thursday as the extended lockdowns in China contributed to global recession anxieties. Reuters cited analysts who said oil might have slipped more, except Russian threats to cut off Europe’s oil and gas supply pushed them back up.