Beijing: China’s economic growth fell by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of the year after lockdowns were imposed in Shanghai and other cities to fight the coronavirus outbreak. The government, however, said there was a “steady recovery” in the economy. The National Bureau of Statistics announced on Friday that it had already registered a weak 1.3 percent growth during the previous quarter after restrictions were imposed in late March, but activity improved in May and June. Anti-infection control measures have disrupted shipping operations in Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, disrupting manufacturing there and in other major cities. Millions of people were confined to their homes, which reduced consumer spending.
Most economic forecasters expect China to fail to meet the ruling Communist Party’s growth target of 5.5 percent this year. At the same time, cases of coronavirus infection are increasing in Los Angeles County of America, due to which the wearing of masks may be made mandatory. County Health Director Barbara Ferrer said this week that masks could be directed to be mandatory if the number of hospitalized patients continues. About one crore people live here. Cases of infection are increasing in America at this time due to the highly contagious BA.5 form of the virus. The cases of infection with BA.5 are 65 percent of the total cases and 16 percent of people are infected with BA.4. These forms of the virus are infecting people by defeating the immunity obtained from the vaccine.
Hospitalizations of people infected with the new Omicron form have risen again in recent weeks, and the White House, along with state and city administrations, is taking new steps to deal with it. Some experts believe that the warning was given too late. “The warning should have been given much earlier,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. Topol has termed the BA.5 form of the virus as the most dangerous form ever. The impact of these two forms has been visible across the world for several weeks now. Experts say that these forms of the virus rapidly replace their old form and they see an increase in the cases of infection.
