China reports 1,437 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 17 million in Shenzhen under lockdown

BEIJING: Mainland China reported 1,437 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Mar 13, the national health authority said on Monday (Mar 14), compared with 1,938 a day earlier as China placed all 17 million residents in Shenzhen under lockdown on Sunday.

Of the new cases, 1,337 were locally transmitted, the National Health Commission said, compared with 1,807 a day earlier.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, stood at 906 compared with 1,455 a day earlier.

There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll unchanged at 4,636.

As of Mar 13, mainland China had confirmed 116,902 cases.

The southern tech hub of Shenzhen told all residents to stay at home as the city struggles to eradicate an Omicron flare-up linked to neighbouring virus-ravaged Hong Kong.

The lockdown and a suspension of public transport will last until Mar 20, a city government notice said, adding that it would launch three rounds of mass testing.

The move extends an earlier lockdown imposed on the city's central business district.

Shenzhen reported 66 new infections on Sunday - a fraction of the 32,430 confirmed the same day in Hong Kong.

SHARES FALL

Hong Kong stocks fell nearly 4 per cent on Monday, dropping below 20,000 for the first time in almost six years, as tech firms were hit by concerns over China's crackdown on the sector and as the country's tech hub Shenzhen was put into lockdown.

The Hang Seng Index shed 3.81 per cent, or 782.32 points, to 19,771.47

"If prevention and control is not strengthened in a timely and decisive manner, it could easily become large-scale community transmission," Shenzhen health official Lin Hancheng said at a briefing on Sunday.