Frustration with Covid response grows in China as daily cases near 5,000

China reported almost 5,000 Covid-19 cases on Friday, as authorities continued to battle an outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variant across multiple provinces and as evidence of frustration among the population grew. After the death of a nurse in Shanghai who was denied hospitalisation after suffering an asthma attack, many are angry that China’s Covid responses appear to be causing more deaths than the virus itself.

On Friday, health authorities reported 4,988 cases, with rising numbers of asymptomatic infections, which China records separately. There is growing concern in Shanghai, where health officials in the city of about 25 million people reported 1,609 cases on Friday. Just over 1,500 cases were asymptomatic, marking a sharp increase from the previous day’s 979.

Shanghai’s authorities have resisted going into city-wide lockdown, a harsh measure still being used in other provinces, and are instead closing individual buildings and communities for testing. But some residents have claimed they’ve been locked down for far longer than warned, and others reported issues in securing fresh food and other deliveries.

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