China defended its measures to curb a COVID-19 outbreak and expressed displeasure with the US over what it calls a “groundless accusation” of Chinese pandemic policies, even as cases in Shanghai continued to spread despite an extensive lockdown.
Shanghai reported a record 24,943 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the municipal government said.
That is more than five times the number seen on March 28, when 4,477 infections were reported as the city first imposed a lockdown. Total new infections in China on Saturday were at 26,355.
The US Department of State recommended US residents to not travel to China and avoid visiting COVID-19 hotspots, including Shanghai, due to what it calls an “arbitrary enforcement” of virus restrictions.
It also allowed non-emergency employees and their family members from the US consulate in Shanghai to leave, and notified Chinese officials of the voluntary departure decision while raising concerns about China’s response to the virus.
“The US announcement of authorizing the voluntary departure of US personnel and their family members at the US Consulate General in Shanghai is the US’ own decision,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said in a statement.
“However, it should be pointed out that China’s anti-epidemic policies are science-based and effective, and we are fully confident that Shanghai and other places in China will prevail over the new wave of the epidemic,” the statement said.
China is struggling to stop the hyperinfectious Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 with lockdowns in several cities and repeated mass testing as it uses a zero-tolerance approach.
The strategy has become less effective in preventing domestic flareups due to the growing contagiousness of new variants, and more disruptive to economic activities and people’s lives.
“We are strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the US side’s groundless accusation against China’s epidemic response policies, and have lodged solemn representations with the US side,” Zhao said.
China’s adherence to the zero-tolerance policy has left the country increasingly isolated in a world that has largely moved to reopening borders and living with the virus.
Shanghai’s infection count keeps climbing despite the city’s move to lock down its 25 million people.
Although there have been some adjustments to allow some movement for people, there is no clarity regarding when the restrictions might be lifted, despite increasing desperation among the population to access food and medical care.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of